Yozma Venture Capital is looking to sell its remaining shares in Israeli-based Conduit, and it may have found a buyer. JPMorgan Chase is apparently in talks with the firm to buy its remaining seven percent stake in Conduit for $100 million. The deal would value Conduit at $1.3 billion, reports Globes.
Three weeks ago, Yozma Venture planned to sell its stake to Silver Lake, but the deal fell apart. Yozma ended up selling two percent of Conduit to W Capital Partners. Now it's hoping the remaining seven percent will go to JPMorgan Chase for cool $100 million.
In 2006, the Yozma III Fund acquired nine percent of the Israeli Internet company for $1.5 million. Now that the fund is nearing its end, it's selling its stake holdings. If it can sell its shares for $100 million, Yomza will reap a roughly 66 percent return on investment.
Conduit's $1.3 billion valuation is nothing to sneeze at, but chief executive Ronen Shilo has said in the past he doesn't have plans to sell the company or take it public.
Conduit makes its money by offering three services to increase user engagement for publishers: a community toolbar that boosts traffic and grows website communities; a mobile service that creates apps; and the Wibaya Bar, which promotes social engagement. The company says more than 260,000 publishers and 250 million end users in 120 countries use its services, including Major League Baseball and Groupon.
Stack of money image via Flickr user noahwesley