Softbank gets Rosendahl
'Net investors tap exec as managing director
The investment arm, a subsid of Softbank Corp., has used its bankroll of $2.5 billion to help fund a slew of dot- coms including BlueLight, buy.com, GeoCities, iPrint.com, MessageMedia, Net2Phone, Preview Systems, TheStreet.com and Toysrus.com.
It is also the largest shareholder in Yahoo!, E*TRADE and ZDNet and is involved in joint ventures with Microsoft, Cisco, Yahoo!, and the National Association of Security Dealers.
With Rosendahl on board, company should up its stakes in entertainment-related dot-coms. Other investment funds have recently also expressed an interest, including Shelter Ventures and Rosendahl ankled PDI in February to pursue other interests and said at the time that he might move into the Internet sector.
He launched PDI in 1980, building the company into a major f/x and computer animation operation biz, where he established the company’s relationship with DreamWorks and executive produced the duo’s first computer animated co-production, “Antz.” DreamWorks acquired the facility in February (Daily Variety, Feb. 8).
“Carl is a legendary entrepreneur in the field of digital entertainment, and it’s not often a venture capital fund has the privilege of naming an Academy Award and Emmy winner to its management team,” said Gary Rieschel, executive managing director of Softbank Venture Capital and executive veep for Softbank Corp.
