April 16 (Bloomberg)--America Online co-founder Steve Case, recast itself as a venture capital company, promised to invest 200 million in fast-growing companies in 2005. With his gamble on Zipcar Inc., he has now made that cash back.
After first day of the Zipcar of negotiation on 14 April, the car-sharing company - has a market value of $ 1.12 billion. Revolution LLC case has about 18 percent of the company, valuing its participation to $ 199 million. That adds to its earlier gains money of the revolution, a financial services company, he sold to American Express Co. last year.LivingSocial, an online service coupon taking the leader of the market Groupon Inc., is the next to the benefit of the funds of the case. As its other investments, he obtained in relatively early to help transform the start-up of the ambitious in a company with wider appeal for consumers. "This is the same scenario that we have accrued with AOL - trying to take a great idea which originally was a small business to a large corporation,"case said this week in an interview." "It is very fun to partner with entrepreneurs who have great ideas about business consumers who can change the world.".Case, who helped start AOL in 1985, founded revolution 20 years more later to invest his money in consumers, health, real estate and hospitality businesses. He spends $ 200 million on a unit called Revolution growth, where he made six investments. It has a related entity called Revolution Ventures invests in less mature companies.American Express money DealRevolution, which provides services of online funds transfer and credit cards, was one of the six startups in the portfolio of growth. Other donors in this enterprise included Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Deutsche Bank AG and U.S. Venture Partners. When he sold to American Express in 2010, the company recovered $ 300 million.Case, 52, running revolution growth, with the former leaders of AOL Ted Leonsis and Donn Davis. They are now trying to raise 400 million dollars to foreign investors for a Fund, according to two people with knowledge of the plan. The blog of AllThingsDigital has rendered effort last month.In August 2005, four months after the opening Washington revolution-based LLC, case purchased a controlling interest in Flexcar, a competitor, Zipcar, for an undisclosed price. He bet after the use of the service in Washington for meetings around the city. His stock into Cambridge, Massachusetts Zipcar-based actions when that company acquired Flexcar in 2007. Income ZIPCAR has taken off since then, jump to 186.1 million in 2010 from 106 million in 2008.Zipcar waves "we really believed in the idea and thought that, particularly in large cities and college campuses"It is something that would get wide adoption "case said.ZIPCAR soared by 56 percent in its first day of trading on April 14. The stock gave a portion of these gains yesterday, dropping 84 cents, or 3% to $27,16 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.Revolution is the largest shareholder Zipcar, followed by companies in the Silicon Valley Benchmark Capital and Greylock Partners, according to a regulatory filing. For the moment, if Zipcar gains are only on paper. He and other insiders must retain their shares for six months before they can sell.In 2008, case has invested in LivingSocial Web startup, led by Tim O'Shaughnessy, another former AOL employee. At the time, the site to allow users to discover and consider things such as books, films and music. After conversion to a daily-deal coupon site, it will generate $ 1 billion in revenue this year, according to two people familiar with the finances of the company. "Seize the Day'LivingSocial, the revolution, is based in Washington, an area where the case has targeted investments. SnagFilms LLC is located there and Clearspring Technologies Inc. is neighbour McLean, Virginia.As quickly grew LivingSocial, trails together on basis of Chicago, which is supposed to be the pace for as much as 4 billion in sales in 2011. The market they're competing in almost nonexistent two years ago, and case has encouraged the LivingSocial to inject capital in sales and marketing to "seize the day", said O'Shaughnessy. "He has the credentials ' been there, done that ', particularly in an environment of consumer," O'Shaughnessy, 29, said in an interview. " "When you look at many investors there, they were not at the head of a ship which has tried to do these things."Peter Barris, an investor group at New Enterprise Associates in Chevy Chase, Maryland, North of Washington, said that he preferred to join the case. "Businesses are both Clearspring and SnagFilms investors."It is a smart guy and I would not bet against him, has said Barris, who knows cases over the past 20 years. "I see NEA collaborate more competition with him.".StrugglesWhile case AOL is credited to help build AOL - in a giant Web valued at more than 150 billion at its peak - it is also known for orchestrating the disastrous purchase of Time Warner Inc. $ 124 billion in 2001. Case resigned as President of the company combined two years later. AOL was spun from Time Warner in 2009 and is now estimated at $ 2.1 billion.Co-founder of Clearspring Hookman Radfar is more interested by the success of the case that its failures. Case first invested in Clearspring in 2007, when the online service for advertisers and publishers start reached 100 million monthly unique users. The company now has an audience 10 times this size and Radfar credits case with this growth. "Take this number and it is Steve, said Radfar, 30, who started the company in 2004. "He is prepared to take very, very big risks." The key word when you think Steve is great. ?-With the help of Spears Lee in New York and Douglas MacMillan in San Francisco. Editors: Lisa Rapaport, Nick Turner
To contact the reporter on this story: Ari Levy in San Francisco at alevy5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles to the tgiles5@bloomberg.net
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