Internet veterans Ross Levinsohn, the guy who bought MySpace for Rupert Murdoch, and former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller plans to join with ComVentures to form a new investment firm with $1.5 billion in assets to be called Velocity Interactive Group.

Since leaving their respective companies, the two, backed by private equity firm General Atlantic, have generated buzz but few deals. The new venture link-up with ComVentures aims to seek early stage and seed investments of up to the $30 million range in the digital media and communications sector around the world.

Levinsohn explains to paidContent’s Staci Kramer that the new deal makes sense because PE firms like General Atlantic are attracted to assets that generate cash flow, which many Internet companies do not.

Out of the gate, Velocity plans to announce its first investments, including NDTV Networks, an Internet video and TV producer in India. It has also funded three companies in the U.S. including Fabrik, an online digital media storage company, Doppelganger, a virtual world for young folks, and Mixercast, a service that lets users create, publish and distribute media.
(paidContent) (Silicon Alley Insider) (WSJ)

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(Photo: Reuters)