Mark Boslet

Nearly one in three companies listed on the nation's stock exchanges have little or no analyst coverage, and most of these are small caps, with market capitalization of less than $250 million, according to a report from Keating Capital.

McGraw-Hill Education said it will acquire a 20% equity stake in Area9 Aps, a Danish educational technology company. The two companies already have a partnership. No terms were disclosed.

Bessemer Ventures Partners scored big Wednesday when Cisco Systems said it will acquire Intucell for $475 million in cash and retention incentives.

Venture investing fell in 2012 for the first time in three years as global economic uncertainty combined with a soft fundraising environment to spark caution in the general partners.

Acquisitions of venture-backed companies fell for the second year in a row in 2012, with a weak fourth quarter contributing to the retreat, according to a study.

Venture-backed IPOs ended 2012 on a slow note with eight deals completed during the fourth quarter in the United States, leading the full-year to look quite similar to 2011.

Venture capitalists foresee back-to-basics investing in 2013 with money flowing to information technology startups in the enterprise and healthcare markets and away from cleantech and traditional medical science. These same investors are relatively sanguine about their fortunes, with half anticipating an improvement in venture returns

WatchDox said it acquired InstallFree. No terms were released.