Goodwin Procter attorneys recently advised a consortium of venture investors in Oculus VR, Inc. in connection with the company’s approximately $2 billion sale to Facebook. The investor group included Andreessen Horowitz, Matrix Partners and Spark Capital. The transaction includes $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of common stock and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Oculus VR® is building a next-generation consumer virtual reality platform. The company's first product, the Oculus Rift, is a virtual reality headset that allows you to step inside a digital environment and feel as though you are truly there. The Oculus Rift provides an immersive, stereoscopic 3D view with an ultra-wide field of view and low latency head tracking that lets the user look around naturally in 360 degrees. Oculus VR, founded in 2012, is headquartered in Irvine, Calif.
Andreessen Horowtiz is a $2.7 billion venture capital firm located in Menlo Park, Calif. The firm was founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz in 2009 and invests in entrepreneurs building companies from seed to growth stages.
Matrix Partners, founded in 1977, is a venture capital firm. Since inception, they have partnered with hundreds of innovators to develop successful businesses, including 50 businesses which went on to initial public offerings and 75 that had profitable M&A events. The firm consistently ranks in the top five venture firms in terms of returns to its investors. Matrix Partners operates in the United States, India and China across multiple sectors and stages.
Spark Capital is a venture capital firm that focuses on Internet and mobile investments. Founded in 2005, the firm manages approximately $1.5 billion across four funds and is currently investing Spark IV, which it raised in 2013. Spark Capital has offices in Boston, New York, and San Francisco.
The Goodwin team advising the investor consortium was led by partner Larry Chu. Partner Kelsey Lemaster provided additional support.
Media coverage of the transaction included articles in Barron’s, The Washington Post and Tech Crunch, among others. More information about the sale of Oculus VR can be found in the press release.