Series B
San Francisco-based UrbanSitter, which helps people search for and vet sitters, has secured $15 million in a Series B funding. DBL Investors led the investment, while Match Group (of IAC) and Aspect Ventures joined prior backers Menlo Ventures, Rustic Canyon Partners, First Round Capital and Canaan Partners in the round. According to reports, Facebook Connect is an important component to the service as parents use their social groups to find sitters.
Funding
Chinese second-hand vehicle online sales platform Cheyipai has realized a $50 million funding round led by Sequoia Capital. CITIC Capital, Morningside, and Matrix Partners participated in the investment. According to reports, in China 1 in 50 second-hand vehicles gets sold through Cheyipai. IHS Automotive forecasts auto sales worldwide will reach 85 million in 2014.
DocuSign, which leverages electronic signature software, is currently raising roughly $100 million with Morgan Stanley’s assistance, the Wall Street Journal reports. The funding could value the San Francisco company at up to $1.5 billion. DocuSign had previously secured $47.5 million in 2012.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that New York investor and product-builder betaworks has received $10 million in funding, mainly from Tokyo incubator Digital Garage. The funding, an extension, rides on the coattails of the company’s recent $20 million injection revealed in December. Roughly $2.5 million of the new investment comes from angel investors
M&A
Yahoo has acquired San Francisco hiring solutions company Distill. The company had previously secured $1.3 million in backing from investors including Felicis Ventures, DN Capital and Innovation Works of China. Deal terms were not disclosed.
Despite Viber Media’s CEO shooting down rumors the company was selling, the Cyprus-based startup has been acquired by Rakuten, reportedly Japan’s biggest e-commerce player. Viber will cost Rakuten $900 million. “[Rakuten] aims to be the global No. 1 Internet services company, and…this acquisition will allow the Company to build on several digital contents services, and advance into new markets,” Rakuten said in a press release.
GE of Fairfield, CT has acquired of Hartford, WI-based API Healthcare, a workforce management services company for the healthcare space. Financial terms of the deal were not revealed.
Waltham, Massachusetts threat protection company Bit9 has combined with of San Antonio, TX-based Carbon Black, which operates in the cybersecurity space. Though deal terms were not disclosed, Bit9 did announce the company has raised $38.25 million. Atlas Ventures led the funding round; Blackstone and all of Bit9’s present investors participated as well, according to a release. Among them: Kleiner Perkins, Highland Capital Partners, .406 Ventures, and Sequoia Capital. The funding brought total backing behind Bit9 to $120 million.