Venture capital giant Accel Partners and
private investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
& Co. formed a new company Wednesday to integrate clients’ online and offline
assets.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
The new company, Accel-KKR Internet Co., will be composed of leading
executives from brick-and-mortar and Internet businesses. The joint venture
will also invest in companies looking to merge the Internet and physical
assets and will provide them not only with capital but also with better
access to management expertise and networking opportunities.
Accel and KKR agreed to provide equal amounts of initial funding to the
joint venture. Late, other partners may be invited to participate in a
second round of financing. Accel and KKR will each name three members to the
new company’s board of directors. Accel’s Board members will be Jim Breyer,
Arthur Patterson and Theresia Ranzetta. KKR will be represented by Henry
Kravis, George Roberts, and Marc Lipschultz.
“We are creating a new kind of company uniquely suited to meeting the needs
of businesses that seek to seamlessly integrate physical assets and online
capabilities,” said Henry Kravis, a founding partner of KKR. “The Internet
has become an indispensable tool
for all businesses, but many traditional bricks-and-mortar companies have
not decided how best to enable their resources to capitalize on this
opportunity. With our vast resources and network, we intend to help them do
so.”