VC Buzz – $451.3+ Million in Today’s Deals

For the latest on cool Internet Start-Ups and their VC backers, point your browser to: http://www.internetVCwatch.com/



 


New in the News



Access Media International, Agillion, BlueGill Technologies, BROKAT Infosystems, CommerceQuest, DigitalWork.com, EnterpriseLink Technology, Epotec, Eprise, e-STEEL, Exterprise, Globix, Hire.com, HomeSpace, Imagine Ltd., Intraspect Software, IPHighway, Kinetic Ventures, KnightRidder.com, Managed Object Solutions, MaxSol, MercadoLibre.com, Noosh, officesupplies.com, PakNetX, Passport Health Communications, Portal Wave, Redpoint Ventures, Reef, Response Networks, SHOP2gether.com, SimplyHealth.com, SINA.com, Ten North, Worth.com, XACCT Technologies, XUMA



 






Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst to Invest $80 Million in Globix



NEW YORK & DALLAS– Globix Corp. (NASDAQ: GBIX), a provider of sophisticated Internet-based solutions for large and medium size businesses, announced an agreement to issue $80 million in new Series A Convertible Preferred Stock to Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Incorporated to expand the buildout of the Globix state-of-the-art SuperPOP Internet Data Centers in Europe and the United States. Hicks Muse will own approximately 19% of Globix Corporation’s outstanding common stock on an as converted basis.


http://www.globix.com






SINA.com Closes $60 Million ‘Series C’ Financing Round



HONG KONG– SINA.com, a Chinese language destination web site, announced it had closed a $60 million Series C financing round, with Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq: DELL) as a lead investor. The financing also included investments from Creative Technology Ltd, Pacific Century CyberWorks Limited, various venture funds affiliated with SOFTBANK CORP., Sumitomo Corp., Trend Micro and United Overseas Bank of Singapore and the venture capital funds it manages. SINA.com’s long-time backers including Crosslink Technology Partners, Crystal Internet Venture Fund, Economic Development Board of Singapore, Goldman Sachs Group, and Walden International Investment Group, also participated in this round of financing together with the new investors.


English-language demo site at www.sina.com/eng






Noosh Closes $50 Million in Private Placement Financing



PALO ALTO, Calif.– Noosh Inc., an Internet business-to-business communication service initially targeting the printing industry, announced that it has raised $50.7 million in a private placement. The round was led by Meritech Capital Partners, Bowman Capital Management, Technology Crossover Ventures and Ricoh Silicon Valley and included existing investors Accel Partners and Advanced Technology Ventures.


http://www.noosh.com


http://www.accel.com


http://www.atvcapital.com


http://www.bowmancapital.com






Agillion Secures Over $40 Million in Funding



AUSTIN, Texas– Agillion Inc., an Internet business service company that enables small and mid-sized businesses to build high-value, highly personalized customer relationships over the Internet, announced the completion of a first round of private financing (beyond its initial seed round) totaling over $40 million from strategic and financial investors. Goldman Sachs & Co (NYSE: GS) led the round with Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Morgan Stanley & Co. (Nasdaq: GRTBX), Integral Capital Partners, MSD Capital and Hambrecht & Quist (NYSE: HQ).

Providing additional investment are Insight Capital, Austin Ventures, Watershed Capital and Comdisco Ventures, as well as members of the advisory board, including Mort Meyerson, former chief executive officer of Perot Systems; Tom Meredith, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Dell Computer Corp.; Mark Seriff, co-founder of America Online Inc.; and Joy Covey, chief strategist at Amazon.com Inc.


http://www.agillion.com






HomeSpace Secures $30 Million in Financing



ENGLEWOOD, Colo.–HomeSpace Inc., an online provider of mortgage, real estate and home services, announced that the company has completed its second round of financing totaling $30 million. Pequot Capital Management and Moore Capital lead the new group of institutional investors. Existing venture investors, who include Global Retail Partners and Oak Investment Partners, also increased their financial commitment in this round. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.


http://www.homespace.com






CommerceQuest Secures $27.4 Million



TAMPA, Fla.– CommerceQuest Inc., a provider of business-to-business integration solutions for mission-critical e-commerce applications, announced that Internet Capital Group (Nasdaq:ICGE) and SCP Private Equity Partners, L.P. have increased their financial interest in the company to a total of $27.4 million.


http://www.CommerceQuest.com






Eprise Secures $25 Million In Financing



FRAMINGHAM, Mass.– Eprise Corp., a provider of advanced Web content management products, announced that it has closed on $25M in financing from Bain Capital’s Brookside Fund, Van Wagoner Capital Management, and Winfield Capital Corp. All of Eprise’s existing investors, including Prism Venture Partners and Alliance Technology Ventures, also participated in the round.


http://www.eprise.com






Financial Technology Ventures Invests in BlueGill



ANN ARBOR, Mich. — BlueGill Technologies, a leader in electronic bill presentment and payment, announced that it has obtained $19.5 million in new financing from a group of investors that includes San Francisco-based Financial Technology Ventures, a venture capital firm with investors that include many financial services firms, including U.S. Bank and Bank One, both of which rely on BlueGill technology for their Internet billing solutions.


http://www.bluegill.com






Reef Closes First Round Financing



BRUSSELS, Belgium– Reef, a global Internet software company providing a complete and modular suite of Internet applications called Reef Internetware, announced that it has secured $13 million in private equity for its first round of financing. Investors include Viventures, Cisco Systems, Net Fund Europe and private investors.


http://www.reef.com






Intraspect Software Closes $11.5M Round of Corporate Financing



LOS ALTOS, Calif. — Intraspect Software Inc., a provider of c-business solutions for Web-based collaboration within business-to-business communities, announced it has closed $11.5 million in financing from corporate investors. KPMG LLP and WPP Group led a key group of Intraspect strategic partners including Freedom Communications, and Thomson-CSF Ventures.


http://www.intraspect.com


http://www.us.kpmg.com






IPHighway Raises $11 Million in Second-Round Funding



FORT LEE, N.J. — IPHighway, a provider of policy management technology, announced that it has closed a second round of venture capital funding with a combined $11 million investment from ABS Ventures, The BRM Group, HarbourVest Partners LLC, and Venrock Associates. IPHighway’s software-only, standards-based solutions transform IP networks into smart, priority-driven environments that reliably deliver time-critical and bandwidth-intensive information, allowing for convergence of voice, video and data traffic.


http://www.iphighway.com


http://www.brm.com


http://www.venrock.com






Brokat Announces Intel Investment



STUTTGART, Germany– BROKAT Infosystems AG, a supplier of software for secure e-banking and e-business solutions, announced an investment of 10 million Euros ($10.4 million) from Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC). According to a capital increase, Intel will receive BROKAT shares of approximately 1 percent. Both companies have agreed to work together on optimization of BROKAT’s software product Twister for the Intel Pentium III Xeon processor and the forthcoming 64-bit Itanium processor.


http://www.BROKAT.com






DLJ’S Sprout Group Invests $10 Million in Epotec



NEW YORK– Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (NYSE: DLJ) announced that the Sprout Group, DLJ’s venture capital affiliate, invested $10 million in Epotec Inc., a provider of Internet-based behavioral health services, products and information for employers, providers, health care organizations, and employees.


http://www.epotec.com


http://www.sproutgroup.com






MaxSol Secures $10 Million in Second Round of Financing



CONCORD, Mass.–MaxSol Inc., a provider of turnkey packaged extranet solutions and business-to-business automation software for the insurance and healthcare industries, announced that it has closed a $10 million second round of financing with Firemark Investments, Mercator Ventures, and its first round investors, Hudson Ventures and Cambridge Samsung Partners.


http://www.maxsol.com






Ten North Launches With $9.6 Million in Second-Round Financing



SAN FRANCISCO — Ten North Inc., a full-service application service provider for making third-party sales channels a competitive advantage, announced it has raised $9.6 million in its second round of financing led by Bay Partners. Bay Partners is joined in the financing round by previous investor APV Technology Partners, as well as Sandy Robertson and Paul H. Stephens (co-founders of Robertson Stephens & Co.); Bill Schroeder (CEO of Diamond Multimedia Systems); Joe Schell (former senior managing director of NationsBank Montgomery Securities); and Greg Avis and Walter Kortschak (managing partners of Summit Partners).


http://www.tennorth.com






Exterprise Secures $8 Million



AUSTIN, Texas– Exterprise Inc., a provider of eMarket Management solutions, announced that it has secured $8 million in second round financing from two premier Texas venture-capital firms: Austin Ventures and Triton Ventures. This brings Exterprise’s total venture capital funding to $9 million. Exterprise’s ActiveBusiness is a highly scalable e-business platform that uses collaborative intelligent agents-based architecture.


http://www.exterprise.com


http://www.austinventures.com


http://www.tritonventures.com






MercadoLibre.com Receives an Additional Capital Investment of $7.6 Million



NEW YORK– MercadoLibre.com, a Latin American leader in on-line auctions, announced that it has received a total of $7.6 million from Chase Capital Partners, Flatiron Partners, and Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst. The company did not reveal the percentage of shares granted in exchange for the investment.


http://www.mercadolibre.com






Passport Receives $7 Million in Private Financing



FRANKLIN, Tenn.–Passport Health Communications Inc., a provider of Internet based solutions for healthcare, announced the closing of $7 million of Series A preferred stock financing. Lead investor for the round is Dauphin Capital Partners, also joined by Coleman, Swenson, Hoffman & Booth; CB Health Ventures; SSM Ventures; Anvers, L.P. and Greenfield Capital Partners.


http://www.passporthealth.com






Keppel T&T Subsidiary Invests $5 million in Imagine Ltd.



SINGAPORE and ATLANTA–Keppel T&T, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Keppel Communications, has selected Imagine Ltd., a world leader in Internet Protocol communication solutions, as its technology partner for Internet/Intranet-based customer care solutions. As part of the partnership agreement, Keppel will invest $5 million for a 11% equity stake in Imagine. http://www.imagineusa.com






Response Networks Secures $5 Million in Second Round Financing



ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Response Networks Inc., a provider of e-transaction performance analysis and problem diagnosis solutions, announced that the company has secured $5.35 million in second-round financing. The funding has been provided by Keystone Venture Capital (Philadelphia, PA); Mid-Atlantic Venture Fund (Reston, VA); Hickory Venture Capital Corp. (Huntsville, AL); and Blue Rock Capital (Wilmington, DE).


http://www.responsenetworks.com






Menlo Ventures Makes Capital Investment in XUMA



SAN FRANCISCO — XUMA, a new provider of rapid, build-to-order solutions for e-businesses, announced that it has secured $5 million in a first round of venture capital financing from Menlo Ventures. XUMA combines traditional business consulting, Internet services and Internet hosting solutions that enable companies to gain time-to-market advantages for new e-businesses.


http://www.XUMA.com


http://www.menloventures.com






SHOP2gether.com Raises $4.3 Million in Private Placement



JERUSALEM — SHOP2gether.com, a new online purchasing exchange, raised $4.3 million in a private placement. The financing round — managed by Jerusalem Global Ltd. — was led by the Giza Fund and included private investors. SHOP2gether.com, an Internet collective purchasing exchange, enables small businesses to leverage their combined e-commerce purchasing power and thereby achieve parity with corporate buyers.


http://www.shop2gether.com


http://www.jerusalem-global.com






SimplyHealth.com Gains Investor Commitments



ATLANTA — SimplyHealth.com announced that it has obtained over $2 million in seed funding to launch a new online health insurance marketplace. Funds were received from encubate holdings LLC and Live OakEquity Partners, as well as the Atlanta Technology Angels and the Atlanta Cardiology Group.


http://www.encubateholdings.com






Portal Wave Announces First Round of Venture Funding



SUNNYVALE, Calif.– Portal Wave Inc., a privately-held company developing and selling complete, packaged enterprise portal solutions for e-business, announced that it has closed its first round of venture funding through DigaComm Ventures. Financial terms were not disclosed.


http://www.portalwave.com






Internet Fact of the Day



The number of Web pages is expected to grow from 925 million in 1998 to 13.1 billion in 2003, according to International Data Corporation. As a result, the market for life-cycle management software is expected to grow from $76.4 million in 1998 to $1.6 billion in 2003.






MERANT Enters into Agreement to Acquire EnterpriseLink



MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and NEWBURY, England — MERANT (Nasdaq: MRNT) (London: MRN) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held EnterpriseLink Technology Corp., an innovative supplier of enterprise extension software. MERANT will pay to the EnterpriseLink shareholders cash consideration of up to approximately $22 million, subject to the terms of the agreement, and will be assuming EnterpriseLink’s stock option plan.


EnterpriseLink is privately owned. Venture funding has been provided by CTC, the largest reseller of Sun and Netscape products in Japan, Japan-based Itochu, the world’s largest trading company, and by Woodside Capital Group.


http://www.merant.com


http://www.enterpriselink.com






Redpoint Ventures Closes $600 Million Fund



MENLO PARK, Calif.– Redpoint Ventures announced the closing of its first fund at $600 million. Redpoint is the technology-focused venture capital firm conceived in August by the partners of Brentwood Venture Capital and Institutional Venture Partners. Redpoint will invest its capital in broadband infrastructure, services and media opportunities for the next generation Internet and television.

Redpoint’s institutional investors are all previous investors in Brentwood Venture Capital and Institutional Venture Partners, including ARCO, Brinson Partners, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Duke Foundation, Endowment Venture Partners, Ford Foundation, Harvard University, Horsley Bridge Partners, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Knightsbridge Advisers, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, Northwestern University, Princeton University, Rockefeller Foundation, Santa Clara University, Stanford University, St. Paul Venture Capital, Pfizer, TIFF, University of California, Venture Investment Associates, Williams College, and Yale University.


http://www.redpointventures.com






Kinetic Ventures to Raise $150 Million Fund



CHEVY CHASE, Md. and ATLANTA– Kinetic Ventures, a technology venture capital firm, announced it will raise the $150 million Utility Competitive Advantage Fund II, the successor to the high-performing $90 million Utility Competitive Advantage Fund raised two years ago. UCAF II, like its predecessor, will be funded entirely by domestic and international utilities. UCAF II will similarly invest in communications, Internet and customer service focused companies best poised to assist utilities as they brace for increasing competition from deregulation. The initial closing is expected before year-end.


http://www.kineticventures.com






Mindport IBS and XACCT Team Up



SANTA CLARA, Calif. and HOOFDDORP, the Netherlands — XACCT Technologies Inc., the developer of the XACCTusage mediation solutions for IP networks, and Mindport IBS, a company which offers software that provides customer care and billing capabilities to service providers, Internet (ISPs), pay-TV, cable, data broadcasting and publishing operators, have announced that they have entered into a strategic alliance. Under the terms of the agreement, Mindport IBS, part of Mindport, the technology subsidiary of NASDAQ and AEX listed MIH Limited (NASDAQ:MIHL, AEX: MIH), will become XACCT Certified Solutions Partner. XACCT is funded by Technology Crossover Ventures, Deutsche Bank, Nissho Iwai Corp. and others.


http://www.xacct.com






e-STEEL Partners With Symix



NEW YORK– e-STEEL Corp. announced that it has joined with Symix Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:SYMX) to deliver enhanced online procurement opportunities to Symix’s midmarket manufacturing and distribution customers. e-STEEL is a neutral, negotiation-based, online vertical marketplace for the $700 billion global steel industry. Symix delivers integrated enterprise and supply chain management systems for midsize manufacturing and distribution companies. e-STEEL is backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Greylock and Bessemer Venture Partners.


http://www.e-steel.com


http://www.symix.com






officesupplies.com Launches



WILMINGTON, Del.– Breakthrough Commerce LLC announced the launch of officesupplies.com, a resource center & marketplace for small and mid-size businesses. officesupplies.com is funded by AT&T Ventures, Hillside Capital Inc., ING Barings, Needham Capital Partners and Breakthrough Commerce LLC.


http://www.officesupplies.com






Knight Ridder Launches New Internet Business Unit – KnightRidder.com



SAN JOSE, Calif. — Knight Ridder announced the creation of a new and separate business unit for the company’s Internet operations — to be called KnightRidder.com. Historically, Knight Ridder’s Internet activities have been reported and managed as a part of the company’s newspaper operations, but once the transition to a stand-alone business unit is made, they will be reported and managed separately. This transition will be complete by the end of the first quarter, 2000. Knight Ridder (NYSE: KRI) is the nation’s second-largest newspaper publisher, with products in print and online. Knight Ridder also has investments in a variety of Internet and technology companies and two newsprint mills.





Who’s Who & Where



PakNetX Names Rick Mace CEO



SALEM, N.H.–PakNetX Corp., a provider of Integrated Contact Center systems, announced that Rick Mace has been appointed president and chief executive officer. Founder and former CEO Bruce Allen will continue his role as chairman of PakNetX. Most recently, Mace served as president and CEO of First Access Inc. PakNetX received $5.25 million of venture capital in its first round of funding from St. Paul Venture Capital, Fidelity Ventures, Natural MicroSystems, BancBoston Ventures and others. PakNetX also closed on $5.1 million of equity in March 1999.


http://www.paknetx.com






Siki Giunta Joins Managed Object Solutions as President and CEO



FAIRFAX, Va.–Managed Object Solutions Inc., an e-business management provider, announced that Siki Giunta, a former senior vice president at Islandia, NY-based Computer Associates, has joined MOS as president and chief executive officer. Giunta will assume responsibility for overall strategy and direction of the company. MOS technology is used to simplify the complexities created by multiple IT management solutions. Financial backing has been provided by JMI Equity Fund.


http://www.mos-inc.com






Worth Media Announces CEO for New Internet Venture



NEW YORK–W. Randall Jones, CEO of Worth Media (formerly Capital Publishing), announced the appointment of Vin Cipolla as CEO of Worth.com. Cipollawas formerly CEO of Pamet River, an Internet strategy and marketing firm, and Digital Creators, a web design and distance learning company. Worth.com is jointly funded by Dawntreader LP and Worth Media. Worth.com is scheduled to launch in the spring of 2000.


http://www.dawntreaderlp.com






Access Media International Appoints New Corporate Development Exec



NEW YORK– Access Media International (USA) Inc., announced the appointment of Eric Shuster, a former Compaq executive, as the firm’s managing director and executive vice president of corporate development. AMI-USA specializes in IT/Internet/communications strategy, venture capital, and actionable market intelligence focused on global small and medium business enterprises. AMI-USA further provides venture capital resources to start-up companies through its financial partner, Seattle-based EnCompass Group Inc., which along with its Tokyo based parent company (TCI), has provided venture capital to over 40 companies


http://www.ami-usa.com






Bob Stutz Joins Hire.com



AUSTIN, Texas–Hire.com, an e-recruiting application service provider, announced the addition of Bob Stutz as vice president of product development and services. Most recently, Stutz served as the head of engineering for Siebel’s Industry Solutions Group. Prior to Siebel, Stutz held senior engineering management positions with Intrepid Systems, Peoplesoft and Sybase. Hire.com is funded by venture capital from Crosspoint Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and TL Ventures.


http://www.hire.com






Digitalwork.com Appoints David Aniol as CFO



CHICAGO– DigitalWork.com, the first “Do-It-Yourself” business agency, announced the hiring of David Aniol as the company’s first chief financial officer. Prior to joining DigitalWork.com, Aniol was the chief financial officer of Open Port Technology. DigitalWork.com has completed two rounds of financing for a total of $15.1 million, with the second round led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson.


http://www.digitalwork.com






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