Earlier this week, PlanetOut received a cash infusion from private investors to help bail the company out of the financial troubles it has been in the last few months.

Two things stand out in this deal.

One is the fact that almost everyone writes that PlanetOut’s troubles are the result of its acquisitions in areas that were outside of its area of expertise, including a cruise ship line, among others. You would think that a company that made it’s name and its money in niche marketing would know when to stick to your niche, but apparently not.

The other note from this deal is that people have noted the fact that one of the investors in the deal is Cascade Investment LLC, which is the fund through which Bill Gates engages in private equity transactions. I have no idea whether this investment means that Bill Gates in his infinite wisdom thinks that the LGBT market is the place to be, or whether some finance guy working for him just saw a good deal at a good price. But either way, it is good to see that the LGBT media market is strong enough that there was a deal to be had at all.

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