Sequoia ejects University of California
Alameda County Superior Court Judge James Richman on Thursday refused to rescind an order compelling the University of California system to disclose its returns on investments in private equity funds. In July, Richman granted a request from the Coalition of University Employees, UC Berkeley physics professor emeritus Charles Schwartz and the San Jose Mercury News that UC reveal the internal rate of return its venture capital investments.
Thursday's decision came a day after Sequoia Capital informed the UC system that, as a result of the July ruling, it will bar UC from investing in a new fund. Sequoia also requested that the university system sell all of its existing positions in the firm's partnerships. Sequoia made similar requests to the University of Michigan in June to prevent the university from complying with Freedom of Information Act requests for disclosure of detailed information about the performance of the school's investments in venture funds. The $110 million the UC system has invested in Sequoia partnerships has generated a $508 million return, according to UC. ...