Following the successful sale of an $8 million Series C Preferred Stock funding round, YellowBrix, Inc., is withdrawing its registration for an initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Alexandria, Va.-based company also arranged the conversion of $6.5 million of existing debt into company equity.
YellowBrix is a provider of content infrastructure services including contextual commerce and personalization capabilities. YellowBrix services integrated content, commerce and advertising to deliver both general and personalized information to customers’ users through their Web pages, e-mail and wireless devices.
“This financing and additional initiatives underway reduce the need for the IPO as a source of capital; withdrawing the IPO allows us to aggressively market our products and services, reinforcing YellowBrix’s position as a leader in the industry,” said YellowBrix Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Randy Lampert.
Leading the funding round were Quantum Industrial Partners, a Soros-backed venture fund, ABN AMRO Private Equity, and Holland Ventures.
“Our Board and financial backers have expressed their support for the underlying YellowBrix business model and our vision of expanding YellowBrix’s leadership in the content infrastructure market,” said Lampert.
According to company officials, YellowBrix experienced “unparalleled growth” last year, expanding its customer base more than 1,000 percent, including such marquee clients as America Online, Monster.com and Business2.0. During the year, the company also launched a number of successful products and features, including SmartNews and NewsReal services as well as advanced editorial features.
YellowBrix also extended its content management technology into the enterprise market with clients like Chase Manhattan Small Business, InfoUSA and LabBook. Using its proprietary contextual analysis technology, YellowBrix can match related content across multiple databases to provide businesses with relevant, aligned information.
“YellowBrix is a leader in meeting customer demands for relevant content. Using the strength of our proprietary technology, we will become the leading content infrastructure company providing unique ways for customers to integrate and disseminate timely, incisive content and commerce across all distribution platforms,” said Lampert. “This financing should enable us to manage our growth to profitability this year and position the company for continued strength in its markets.”
According to YellowBrix President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Massa, “We have streamlined the company to maximize focus on our core strengths, improve product delivery and place an emphasis on providing our clients with the highest-quality customer service in the industry.”
Yellowbrix has a Web presence at http://www.yellowbrix.com.
