Web currency company beenz.com inc. said it completed a $30.5 million
third round of private funding through an additional $10.5 million
investment, in the form of convertible preferred stock, led by Patricof & Co. Ventures and Apax Partners & Co. Ventures Ltd.
The companies said the funds will go toward growth and expansion, marketing
and developing the beenz technology. Total funding of beenz.com now stands at
$34.5 million.
beenz is a universal Web “currency” that consumers can spend online, and they
are earned by visiting, interacting with, or shopping at participating Web
sites. More than 230,000 consumers currently earn and spend beenz, the
company said.
“We are very excited about the global potential for beenz both as a
promotional currency and ultimately in other applications as well,” said
Thomas P. Hirschfeld, managing director at Patricof.
Earlier third round investors include Oracle Corp. chief executive Larry
Ellison, Japanese communications and retailing company Hikari Tsushin,
Gefinor Group, French holding company ArtC)mis, SA and the Euro-American
venture capital firm Viventures Partners, SA.
Separately, beenz.com said it has signed two new customer agreements, one
with music site MP3.com for more than 100 million beenz, and
the other with entertainment site SpeedyClick.com for 37 million beenz.
beenz.com will be a sponsor of MP3.com’s Music and Technology Tour, currently
touring 28 college campuses across the United States. In addition, MP3.com
will give away a specified amount of beenz to users who visit and interact
with the MP3.com
site.
SpeedyClick will accept beenz in exchange for SpeedyBucks, the site’s rewards
program points, and will also offer beenz to consumers for various activities
on the site.
