VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Austin, Texas-based solar microinverter provider SolarBridge Technologies closed $42 million in a funding round led by Constellation Technology Ventures to drive its expansion efforts across North America and Australia.

Sydney, Australia-based music streaming firm Spotify snapped up Somerville, US-based music discovery engine The Echo Nest for an undisclosed amount to create an improved music discovery service for its clients.

Townsville, Australia-based startup Friends For Hire is launching on March 22 to allow lonely people to hire other people to be their platonic friend for an hourly fee of $60.

Melbourne, Australia-based startup Influx.com pocketed $250,000 in seed funding from Mark Harbottle and Leni Mayo to provide CRM (customer relationship management) solutions for online and tech startups.

Dublin, Ireland-based over-the-counter (OTC) drug manufacturer Perrigo Company PLC picked up a set of products being marketed in Australia and New Zealand from South African firm Aspen Global Inc in a $51-million cash deal.

Melbourne, Australia-based web hosting provider Melbourne IT added Sydney-based web domain registry and web hosting firm NetRegistry in a deal valued at $50.4 million to combine two of the biggest web service businesses in the country.

Waterloo, Canada-based software giant OpenText invested $1 million to open a data center in Sydney, Australia, to help companies deal with problems centered on enterprise data.

Waterloo, Australia-based mobile payment startup Beat the Q bagged $1 million in funding from high-net worth individuals to partially fund its planned acquisition of Sydney-based loyalty app eCoffeeCard.

Tokyo, Japan-based staffing firm Outsourcing Inc invested $5 million (INR30 crore) for a majority stake in Bangalore, India-based search and staffing company Alp Consulting Ltd to gain access to the Indian market.

West Perth, Australia-based public exploration and mining firm Golden Rim Resources raised $491,000 in placement to continue developing its Balogo project in Burkina Faso, Africa while the firm is still trying to determine other funding options.

Menlo Park, US-based social media giant Facebook will be kicking off its yearly Hacker Cup competition at the company's head office today with 25 participants from North America, Asia, and Europe.

Sydney, Australia-based accounting software maker Practice Ignition pocketed $650,000 in a seed round from investors such as MYOB co-founder Graig Winkler, for the expansion and development of the firm.

Perth, Australia-based mineral sands explorer Iluka Resources Ltd announced that it will pick up an 18.3% stake in Rotherham, UK-based metal powder producer Metalysis for ₤12.2 million ($A22.5 million).

Paddington, Australia-based golf club industry software provider MSL Solutions purchased North Sydney, New South Wales-based handicapping system manager Golf Link Partners (GLP) for an undisclosed sum to expand its company portfolio.

Sydney, New South Wales-based mining and exploration company Kimberley Diamonds Ltd picked up the Argyle Smoke Creek diamond project from Mumbai, India-based firm Venus Metals Corp for A$1 million in combined cash and issued shares.