Firm Expands Venture Capital Network to S.D.

SAN DIEGO —  The accounting firm of Deloitte Haskins & Sells will include San Diego in its 18-city, computer-linked network that will serve as a link between businesses that need money and investment capital sources around the country.

The 18 offices have been “strategically placed in what we see as the cities with the most (venture capital) activity,” Robert Weaver, a partner in the giant accounting firm, said Wednesday. “In California, we’ll be operating from San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County and San Jose.

Weaver suggested that the “Capital Connection,” which began operating Tuesday, could be the nation’s first national computer-linked capital-funding network.

The newly introduced program will “go beyond venture capital and include corporate joint ventures and companies looking for mergers and acquisitions,” Weaver said. “We’ll include most sources of funding and, to my knowledge, there’s nothing going on quite like this at this scale.”

Although the firm has been “handling capital funding on a local basis for some time now, we decided it would make more sense to formalize it and make it a much easier and more timely service,” Weaver said.

He emphasized that because Deloitte Haskins & Sells will maintain the computer data base, the “Capital Connection” will be able to offer the confidentiality that new companies demand. “We’ll also have the benefit of both local contacts and an intimate knowledge of the source of funds around the country,” Weaver said.

Weaver characterized the new program as the firm’s response to a venture capital industry that has grown to about $4 billion during the past five years.