Newport Beach wireless and new media expert Craig Cooper is now managing director of new digital media investments for Saban Capital Group in Los Angeles, leaving VantagePoint, a Silicon Valley venture capital fund, after just a few months.

The local venture community was excited when Cooper opened a Fashion Island office for VantagePoint in November to bring fresh money and expertise to the Orange County investing community. His first, and as it turns out only, investment was in YouMail, a customized voicemail message system for cell phones.

Haim Saban sold the family entertainment empire including Univision to the Walt Disney Corp. in 2001 for $5.2 billion. He created Saban Capital Group, a private investment firm specializing in media and entertainment. This new division will focus on new media, wireless and consumer Internet both in the United States and internationally.

Cooper said he will remain in the same Newport Beach office and his investment interest will continue to be transformative technologies in messaging and wireless, online games and video and next-generation broadband.

“The success of Saban Capital’s media and entertainment investments, its strong management team and wide range of resources provide a solid platform from which to grow the business,” Cooper said.

Saban said, “We’re thrilled that Craig has agreed to join our team. We have known Craig for years and have long admired his proven track record as a thought leader in the world of new media. His creative vision for the future of our investment platform will be a major asset to Saban Capital as we continue to make strategic investments in new media and consumer Internet.”

Cooper was a founder of Boost Mobile USA, which sold to Nextel in 2003 and a founding partner at SoftBank Capital Technology Fund. The New Zealand native built his career in mobile devices, having been a partner in Australia’s largest independent mobile retail distributor before moving to the United States.

At VantagePoint, Cooper was to invest in early-stage companies, but apparently the $4.5 billion multi-fund firm quickly changed its mind. Cooper recently said the parting was friendly, and he expects to refer deals back and forth with VantagePoint.

Click here for the story about Craig Cooper’s short-lived VantagePoint effort.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 10th, 2008 at 9:04 am and is filed under Local companies, Venture capital. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.