A little more info on eventures:
EVentures Taps Schroder Official
To Lead U.K. Unit Expansion
By CHARLES GOLDSMITH
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
LONDON -- The new-media investment vehicle co-owned by Rupert Murdoch, eVentures, on Thursday will name Diana Noble of venture-capital group Schroder Ventures as chief executive of its United Kingdom operations as it embarks on two major British projects, according to people familiar with the developments.
Ms. Noble, 38 years old, has been with Schroders merchant bank since 1984, and has been a partner in Schroder Ventures since 1987. She will immediately join eVentures, which is jointly owned by Internet investor Softbank Corp. of Japan and by epartners, the e-commerce and new-media venture-capital fund set up by Mr. Murdoch's News Corp., which now has a capitalization of $400 million (379.2 million euros).
The launches earlier this year of epartners and eVentures were seen as major signs that Mr. Murdoch had firmly embraced the Internet after initial skepticism. The epartners chief executive is Mark Booth, who had been the CEO of British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC, which is 40%-owned by Mr. Murdoch.
The appointment of Ms. Noble as eVentures CEO is likely to receive close attention within Britain's media industry. It follows a much-publicized episode this summer in which the job was offered to Stephen Grabiner, then chief executive of pay-TV company OnDigital, a BSkyB rival. After he reportedly accepted the post -- which would have been a major coup for Mr. Murdoch's empire -- Mr. Grabiner turned down the job down in favor of a top position at venture-capital firm Apax Partners.
Ms. Noble was chosen after a selection process in which some 20 people were interviewed, say people familiar with the matter. "Blue-chip people from blue-chip companies are now embracing this sort of entrepreneurial situation," said a person familiar with the search process. "That's been the case in the U.S., and it's now coming to the U.K. and Europe."
The main role of eVentures is to introduce U.S. Internet companies to the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and India, and it has $50 million of initial capital to invest. In Britain, eVentures is due this autumn to launch affiliates of E-Loan Inc., an online mortgage broker, and e-commerce venture Buy.com. The latter project is expected to offer an alternative to the high prices paid by British consumers for many items, an issue that has become a major political issue after newspapers coined the phrase "Ripoff U.K." Buy.com will likely initially focus on computers and other technology products, according to people familiar with the matter.
At Schroders, Ms. Noble has been involved mostly in investments in established businesses ranging from ship repair to engineering companies. She enrolled earlier this year in an advanced management program at Harvard University in the U.S., say people familiar with her appointment, and the exposure to the Internet buzz in the U.S. was her inspiration to seek the new post at eVentures.
Write to Charles Goldsmith at charles.goldsmith@wsj.com |
