Idealab Reports $1 Billion Raised

Pasadena-based Internet business incubator Idealab said it had raised $1 billion from private investors, which will tide the company over until its initial public offering. Investors in the unusually large round of funding include Dell Computer Corp., BancBoston Capital, Moore Capital Management, T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., 24/7 Media and Idealab founder and Chairman Bill Gross. Idealab, which founded such companies as EToys Inc. and GoTo.com, will use the proceeds to fund additional start-ups and to increase its stake in some of the companies it has already launched. Idealab has long been expected to file for an IPO this year. But that filing has been delayed by a federal securities law that could force it to be classified as a mutual fund, according to people familiar with the situation. Idealab is applying for an exemption.