What you need to know - 06/30/11

MySpace sold by News Corp. for pennies; HomeAway debuts on the public market with $216 million;

Amazon sent a mass Dear John email to all of its affiliates informing them of the plans to terminate Amazon’s California affiliate program if California lawmakers do, indeed, enact newly passed legislation requiring online retailers to collect sales taxes from shoppers.

Online payments system Braintree raised a $34 million Series A round from Accel Partners.

The Clymb, a flash sale site designed exclusively for outdoor gear and accessories, raised a $2 million Series A round of funding, led by the Oregon Angel Fund and Walden Venture Capital, with help from existing investor J Allard and other individual investors.

Vacation rental site HomeAway debuted on Nasdaq, raising $216 million from investors who have warmed up to the revived technology IPO.

The Kiva City Program, announced by former President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative America conference in Chicago, is essentially a new distribution model that Kiva hopes will spur economic development in some of U.S. cities that were the hardest hit by the recession.

Digital media company Specific Media acquired Myspace from News Corporation for a reported $35 milllion. CEO Mike Jones is leaving in two months.

Neul, provider of wireless network technology that uses the TV white space spectrum, raised a $12.8 million (£8 million) Series A round led by European venture capital firm DFJ Esprit, with participation from IQ Capital, Cambridge Angels and the company’s founders and employees.

SeeVolution, provider of website heat mapping and real-time analytics, secured $530,000 in angel financing, bringing the company’s total raised to $730,000.