Consumer

This is the second in a bimonthly series of articles about the personal alternative investments markets available to the professional corporate venturer. This section in Global Corporate Venturing magazine looks beyond our readers' day jobs at how they manage their time and wealth using the same skills of insight, trend analysis and managing risk they bring to their professional careers.

These pages summarise last month's deal activity with a corporate venturing involvement. To report a deal or add your data, email Toby Lewis at tlewis@globalcorporateventuring.com

A trend to watch for much of this year will be corporates coming in to lead rounds for exciting new technologies of a capital intensive nature. For contrarian corporates getting in, while others are pulling back, the opportunity is promising.

The exact size of Microsoft's stake is outlined in the social network's latest regulatory filing.

US-based law firm Fenwick & West's corporate venturing unit os joined by Menlo Venture and Comerica Bank, back the online media company.

The Google Ventures-backed local deals company has raised its A round led by Spark Ventures, after sealing seed backing in 2010 from Google Ventures and Spark.

The Germany-based dog food company is backed in a seed deal, by the state-backed fund supported by industrial groups.

US-based technology company Microsoft takes a stake in Nook, Barnes & Noble's e-reader.

Nasdaq-listed vending group Coinstar is joined backing the electronics recycling company by Singapore billionaire Koh Boon Hwee, advisory firm AKS Capital and venture firms including Claremont Creek Ventures.

Virgin Group was joined in the round by Souter Investments, the private investment vehicle of Stagecoach founder Brian Souter, as well as venture firms ePlanet Capital and Hermes Growth Partners.