Is Bay Partners falling apart? Maybe, maybe not

There is a story by Private Equity Week today that says Bay Partners, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has invested in companies like Riya, Wallop and Xactly, has lost half its six partners.

It says the firm’s investors, the “limited partners,” or large institutions and universities which provide the firm with its money, are taking a “wait-and-see” approach to the developments. The story suggests investors may pull their money.

However, the story does not quote any LPs, so we aren’t able to confirm this. In fact, a few weeks ago we’d asked one of the partners who remains about rumors of the departing partners. He said everything was fine. One source close to the firm told us last night that the departing partners were under-performers, and that is why they left — it is the brutal reality of venture capital. In which case, limited partners may support these measures.

So perhaps the LPs are fine with this. We just don’t know. Nothing confirmed yet. Bay’s 2001 vintage fund, which it began investing after the Internet bubble burst, is in the red, but it still is holding several investments on its books, and it is too early to tell how it will do. And the firm’s appointed leader is still in place. So it may have had only one, or two strikes so far… stay tuned.

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