Outsourced e-business solution provider NetSales Inc. secured $31.75 million from
a group that includes Norwest Equity Partners, Time Warner, The Chase
Manhattan Corporation, Wells Fargo & Co. and Advanta Partners.
The investment “further validates our approach and the need in the middle
market that we’re targeting,” said Robert Fraser, NetSales founder and chief
executive officer.
Fraser said a portion of the funds will be used to double the company’s
employee base to 300 this year and to expand NetSales’ range of service
offerings. Fraser said NetSales also will gain from strategic arrangements
that will make the company’s e-commerce solutions available to business
customers and affiliates of several of the investing firms.
NetSales said it currently conducts full-service e-commerce for more than
2,000 companies, up from 500 at year-end 1998.
“We believe NetSales provides tremendous value in enabling e-commerce in a
business-to-business environment, and are very excited to be backing this
first-class management team,” said Art Monaghan, a principal at Norwest
Equity Partners.
NetSales provides the services, processes and technological infrastructure
that allow small- to medium-sized businesses to conduct both
business-to-consumer and/or business-to-business e-commerce initiatives.