VENTURE CAPITAL POST

California, US-based venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is in the process of raising $1.5 billion for its new fund, according to Fortune LP whisperer Dan Primack.

For venture capital firm Atomico founder Niklas Zennström , Silicon Valley is not the only technology hub where great firms can come from. He says they can come from anywhere.

The hacker group who called themselves the Syrian Electronic Army said they were the ones that attacked the social media accounts of Microsofit-owned Internet calling service Skype, Reuters reported.

Tim Draper, the billionaire whose venture capital firm has invested in Skype and Baidu, has proposed to divide California into six mini-states, the Financial Times reported.

Retrofit, a fitness company whose clients include Google, Salesforce.com and American Medical Association, has raised $5 million in a Series B funding round lead by Cambia Health Solutions.

The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported on Wednesday, including Fortum, National Vision, Saipem, CTT, MTS, Southern Pacific, Warrnambool, Verbund, Bakkafrost, Popular and Marathon Oil.

The Luxembourg-based General Court declared on Wednesday that Cisco's antitrust concerns regarding Microsoft Corp's takeover of the largest Internet video and voice messaging provider Skype was unfounded.

California-based private messaging app Wickr had redesigned and is in the middle of a USD7.4 million fundraising, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today.

Europe's traditional phone companies are about to face more competition from a group of Nordic start-ups that will offer low-cost mobile calls and other services.