European business-to-business trading hub
Hyperchannel
announced Wednesday the completion of a $24 million funding
round.
The latest financing was led by GS Capital Partners III, L.P.
and affiliates managed by Goldman Sachs, GE Capital’s Equity
Group and MRV Communications Inc.
Hyperchannel has developed an online trading system
named Hyporium which enables buyers and sellers in the
IT market to conduct online procurement using highly
automated ordering.
Hyperchannel has already launched Hyporium in the U.K.,
France, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Germany, and
will use some of the funding to roll out the system in
Spain, Italy and Belgium.
“Our intent with this round of financing is to deliver
on our vision and realize our growth potential,” said
Nick Kandola, Hyperchannel’s president and chief executive
officer.
Speaking for Goldman Sachs, Executive Director Atul Kapur
said that e-commerce solutions were a very attractive
area for investment.
“This funding will allow Hyporium to accelerate its
development as one of the leaders in European IT
business-to-business solutions,” said Kapur.
Edmund Glazer, chief finance officer, MRV Communications,
pointed out that Goldman Sachs and GE Equity were
adding significant value to Hyperchannel by establishing
strong commercial alliances and providing access to new
markets.
Formed in November 1997, Hyperchannel taken a two-tier
approach in developing an e-commerce solution for the IT
channel.
On the first level, the Hyporium Trading Hub lets
manufacturers supply their goods to one-stop reseller
shops, while the second tier enables resellers to
offer an online service to end-users.
