SoftBank Capital has been an active investor in the area of social media marketing analysis--it was an early backer of social media platform Buddy Media, which Salesforce.com bought in 2012 for nearly $700 million, and has invested in startups like SocialFlow and CrowdTwist in a bet that likes, tweets, comments and shares will increase brand awareness and ultimately boost sales. Now SoftBank is backing another social media marketing startup, leading a $6 million round in New York-based Shareablee, Lizette Chapman reports for VentureWire. Shareablee is a sort of Nielsen ratings for social media campaigns, scouring content that brands publish across social networks and measuring how many people engage to determine how effective each campaign is. The investment is part of a larger trend of increased venture funding for software used for business applications, according to Dow Jones VentureSource.

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Emerald Hill Capital Partners has closed its third Asian fund of funds at just over $400 million to largely invest in Chinese, Indian and Southeast Asian private equity firms. It has invested in one or more funds from Asian firms that include Qiming Venture Partners and ClearVue Partners.

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