???? 我曾經在以前的文章中指出，投資公司最好不要用創始合伙人的姓名命名。我記得很清楚，那是發生在Thomas H. Lee公司從Thomas H. Lee Partners公司 （在改回該名稱前，有段時間叫THL Partners）拆分之后。

????看來我們現在可以得出這樣一個推論：公司也不能用成立所在地城市來命名，除非該城市的聲譽與公司產品的核心價值相匹配【比如，星巴克全資擁有的子品牌“西雅圖最好的咖啡”（Seattle's Best Coffee）】。

????現在我提這個問題，原因在于波士頓電池公司（Boston-Power）本周二宣布已通過風險資本和中國政府的資助，合計募集了逾1.25億美元資金。作為獲得后者投資的條件，波士頓電池公司計劃將其運營地點從波士頓郊區遷到中國。除了要在中國新建一個大型工廠外，公司的高管團隊也將移師北京。本月早些時候，該公司波士頓地區的首席執行官、首席財務官和營銷總監紛紛撤退，或許就是為了給新的團隊（雖然目前人選未定）騰出位置吧。

????搬遷意味著該公司將在美國裁員30人左右，但在中國將雇用數百名員工。波士頓電池在美國擁有一條試點生產線，但將繼續保留其技術團隊。公司創始人兼執行董事長克里斯蒂娜?蘭佩-昂納路德是留守人員之一（盡管仍與公司保持雇傭關系），她稱該交易是波士頓電池公司邁向成功的最佳機會。

????她說：“我們仍將是一家全球性公司，但我們要把總部遷至市場所在的地區。得益于政策支持以及對技術的巨大需求，不論是電動車電池的生產還是安裝，中國都將超過西方國家?！?/p>

????她似乎也在暗示，如果2009年波士頓電池公司被美國能源部（Department of Energy）選為15億美元政府補貼的受益人之一，可能就不會有現在這個交易了。波士頓電池此前一直在申請1億美元的補貼，用于在馬薩諸塞州建造一個將雇用600人的電池廠。但公司的申請沒能獲得通過，補貼最終發放給了A123系統公司（A123 Systems ）等競爭對手。A123系統公司總部設在馬薩諸塞州，利用政府補貼資金在密歇根州建了一家工廠。

????蘭佩-昂納路德解釋說：“我也非常希望這個工廠能建在美國，但當時我們沒能入選。也許是因為當時公司太年輕了，但不論是什么原因，我都是應該站出來承擔后果的人員之一?！?/p>

????本輪融資金沙江創業投資基金（GSR Ventures ）出了大頭，而風投公司橡樹投資（Oak Investment Partners ）和邦德資產管理公司（Foundation Asset Management）也有份參與。但波士頓電池公司現有股東Venrock和Gabriel Venture Partners公司并未參與，不過蘭佩-昂納路德暗示他們可能會參與下一輪融資。波士頓電池公司并未透露在募集的1.25億美元資金中風投公司和中國政府的出資明細。

????I once wrote that you shouldn't name an investment firm after its founding partners. Pretty sure that was after Thomas H. Lee split from Thomas H. Lee Partners (which for a while became THL Partners, before shifting back).

????Well, it seems we now have a corollary: You shouldn't name a company after the city in which it was founded – unless that city's reputation is central to your product (e.g. Seattle's Best Coffee).

????I raise the issue today because Boston-Power, an electric battery company, today announced that it has raised more than $125 million via a combination of venture capital and giveaways by the Chinese government. To get the last part, Boston Power plans to shift the locus of its operations from the Boston suburbs to China. Not only by building a massive new manufacturing facility, but also by putting its senior executive team in Beijing. Guess that's why its Boston-area CEO, CFO and head of marketing all left earlier this month – to be replaced by a new team that has not yet been identified.

????This means around 30 layoffs in the U.S. – where Boston-Power has a pilot production line, and will retain its technical team -- but hundreds of new workers in China.

????One of those staying behind (albeit in the company's employ) is founder and executive chairman Christina Lampe-?nnerud, who tells me that this deal is Boston-Power's best chance for success.

????We'll still be a global company, but we're moving our headquarters to where the market is," she says. "China is outpacing the Western world in terms of both electric battery manufacturing and deployment, due to a straight-forward policy and an enormous demand for technology."

????She also seemed to imply that Boston-Power might not have done this deal had the Department of Energy picked the company as a beneficiary of $1.5 billion in battery-related grants handed out in 2009. Boston-Power had been seeking $100 million to build a battery manufacturing plant in Massachusetts that would have employed 600 people, but got passed over in favor of rivals like A123 Systems (a Mass.-based company that built the stimulus-funded plant in Michigan).

????"I would have loved to see this facility built where we live, but we were not picked," Lampe-?nnerud explains. "I think our company was perhaps a bit too young but, whatever the reason, I was one of the people who had to deal with the consequences."

????GSR Ventures led the round, and was joined by return backers Oak Investment Partners and Foundation Asset Management. Existing Boston-Power shareholders Venrock and Gabriel Venture Partners were not listed, but Lampe-?nnerud suggests they may participate in an expansion tranche. The company is not breaking down how much of the $125 million-plus came from private investors, as compared to from the Chinese government.