New in the News
ACT Teleconferencing, Alibaba.com, AuctionRover.com, AutobyOwners.com, AV Labs, beenz.com, Bullet Point News, Business Layers, CarsDirect.com, Catena Networks, CenterBeam, CertifiedMail.com, Cmetric, Derivion, eCredit.com, Event Zero, GAIN Capital, Gator.com, GreenTravel.com, Green Witch, GWcom, High Technology Solutions, HomeGain, IndX Software, iSKY, LearningAction, lucy.com, Maingate, Mohomine, Motive Communications, New Edge Networks, News Alert, Nuforia, Obongo, OE/ONE.com, oKid.com, OmniComm Systems, OnDisplay, Openshop
Holding
, PeopleSupport, Perfumania, perfumania.com, PhotoTrust.com, Proflowers.com, Rare Medium Group, Richardson Company, Rotor Communications, Sierra Atlantic, SigmaNet Network, Skulogix, SoftLock.com, Spectrum Equity Investors, Starbelly.com, SUMmedia.com, Trident Capital, TuneTo.com, Venture Strategy, WebVision, Xceed, Zero-Knowledge SystemsDeal News
Rare Medium Group Completes $70 Million Private Equity Financing
NEW YORK — Rare Medium Group Inc. (Nasdaq:
RRRR), a B-to-B Internet enabler, providing consulting, Internet development, ASP services, and venture capital to next-generation B-to-B Internet companies, completed a $70 million private equity financing. The participants, which included Putnam Investments and Franklin Resources Inc., purchased an aggregate of 2.5 million shares of common stock. Currently, Rare Medium Group Inc. owns six incubator companies and has 16 venture investments.http://www.raremedium.com
New Edge Networks Raises $62.5 Million to Grow On
VANCOUVER, Wash.– New Edge Networks raised $62.5 million in additional funding which will be used to help the company expand and accelerate the deployment of high-speed digital subscriber line service in small, midsize and semi-rural areas. About half of New Edge Networks’ new capital comes from the three original venture capital partners: Accel Partners, Crosspoint Venture Partners and Greylock. New Edge Networks also is getting funds from Comdisco Ventures, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Inte
l Corp., Meritech Capital Partners, and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. New Edge Networks’ management team and other current shareowners also invested new capital into the company.
http://www.newedgenetworks.com
http://www.accel.com
http://www.crosspointvc.com
http://www.greylock.com
GWcom Receives Capital Investment of $56 Million
SANTA CLARA, Calif.– GWcom received a capital investment of $56 million from New World Infrastructure Ltd., a Hong Kong blue-chip conglomerate. This investment will be used to maintain GWcom’s wireless mobile portal leadership position in China, expand operations in the U.S. and Asia, and expand its e-commerce wireless applications. byair.com, the wireless portal business of Gwcom, can be accessed from most wireless devices with the ability to get on the Internet, such as WAP-enabled mobile phones, wireless PDAs and two-way pagers. The world’s first wireless electronic stock trading took place on byair.com during 1998 in Shanghai. byair.com provides its users with access to information on the weather, traffic, entertainment, news, health, culture and will soon provide e-commerce and online banking .
http://www.gwcom.com
http://www.byair.com
HomeGain Secures $53 Million in Funding
EMERYVILLE, Calif. — HomeGain, a Web site catering to the needs of home sellers, secured $53 million in third-round financing. Investors include J. & W. Seligman and Co. Inc. and Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape and former chief technology officer of America Online. Other investors include Brett Bullington, executive vice president of Excite@Home, BancBoston Ventures, Technology Crossover Ventures, TMCT Ventures, Comdisco Ventures, and Mindful Partners. HomeGain allows home buyers and sellers to choose a qualified, professional real estate agent online by instantly comparing and contrasting qualifications and proposals from a number of local agents — anonymously — before selecting the agent they prefer.
http://www.HomeGain.com
http://www.seligman.com
http://www.bancboscap.com
http://www.tcv.com
http://www.tmctventures.com
http://www.cdoventures.com
iSKY Attracts $50 Million Second Round Fundi
ng
DENVER — iSKY secured $50 million in second-round funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, TV Guide and Liberty Media. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and TV Guide also participated in the first round of iSKY funding. Liberty Media is a new iSKY investor. iSKY will roll out its broadband satellite service in 2001, delivering two-way, wireless, and affordable broadband Internet access via satellite to any home or small office in the United States, Canada and Latin America.
http://www.iSKY.net
http://www.kpcb.com
http://www.tvguide.com
http://www.libertymedia.com
CenterBeam Receives Additional Funding
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — CenterBeam Inc., a provider of enterprise-level computing services to small business, announced that Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq:
DELL), is the lead investor in the company’s second round of financing which totals over $41 million. Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) joined in providing an equity investment. Of the $41 million raised in the second round, $35 million is equity and $6 million is equipment financing provided by Silicon Valley Bank & Meier Mitchell & Company. This brings total financing for the company to over $60 million. In addition to Dell and Intel, new investors include a CenterBeam customer, Tangent Fund Management, and Impact Venture Partners. Returning investors included Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), CrossPoint Venture Partners, Accel Partners, New Enterprise Associates and USWeb/CKS Corp (Nasdaq: USWB).http://www.centerbeam.com
http://www.impactvp.com
http://www.crosspointvc.com
http://www.accel.com
http://www.nea.com
Derivion Raises $40 Million in Funding
ATLANTA — Derivion, an application service provider of electronic bill presentment and payment services, raised $40 million in third round funding. Leading this round of investors is the Capital Z Financial Services Fund II LP. Other investors include GE Financial Assurance, Zurich U.S., Farmers Group Inc., Hambrecht & Quist’s Access Technology Fund, and oth
er strategic partners. Previous funding partners NeoCarta Ventures, PTEKVentures.com, and Fuqua Capital also participated in this latest round of funding. Derivion has raised a total of $54 million in investment capital during the past 12 months. Derivion enables billers of any size to enhance their current billing process by facilitating the move from paper-based to Internet-based bill presentment and payment in a secure and scalable environment.
http://www.derivion.com
http://www.capitalz.com
Proflowers.com Completes $35 Million Financing
LA JOLLA, Calif.– Proflowers.com, a pure-play internet flower company, completed a third round of private financing through the placement of $35 million of preferred stock. The investment was led by JPS International, an investment vehicle managed by Jared Schutz, co-founder of BlueMountain.com, and included several other investors. Schutz launched Proflowers.com in 1998. Proflowers.com compresses the supply chain by delivering flowers direct from the grower; Proflowers.com is currently the only company that offers customers a seven-day guarantee on all floral deliveries.
http://www4.proflowers.com
Catena Networks Raises $30 Million in Second Round Financing
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. — Catena Networks closed its second round of financing. The $30.2 million round was led by Menlo Ventures. Menlo joins Morgenthaler and Joe Costello, who led Catena’s first round which was completed in December 1998. Also participating in Catena’s second round are Chase Capital Partners, Worldview Technology Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, BCE (Bell Canada Enterprises) Capital and Stanford University. Catena Networks has been funded to address the combined consumer requirements of plain old telephone service and broadband access to the Internet via ubiquitous twisted pair copper lines. The company is focused on creating the new access architecture for the converged public network. Bob Machlin, former vice president of marketing for Cascade Communications, and more recently, vice president of marketing for Ascend Communications, joined as president and chief executive officer.
http://www.catenanet.com
http://www.menloventures.com
http://www.morgenthaler.com
http://www.chasecapital.com
http://www.worldview.com
http://www.bvp.com
http://www.bcecapital.com
Xceed Raises $30 Million in Private Offering
NEW YORK– Xceed Inc., an interactive architect and e-business consultancy (NASDAQ:
XCED), closed a $30 million private offering of securities to a group of investors led by Ramius Capital Group. Funds managed by Ramius Capital first invested in Xceed in June 1999.http://www.xceed.com
lucy.com Secures $28 Million in Third-Round Financing
PORTLAND, Ore. — lucy.com closed a $28-million third round of financing co-led by Oak Investment Partners and Maveron LLC with additional participation from lucy.com’s founding investors Sutter Hill Ventures and Foundation Capital. lucy.com, an online retailer of women’s fitness apparel and accessories, opened its doors in mid-November 1999.
http://www.lucy.com
http://www.oakvc.com
http://www.maveron.com
eCredit.com Closes $24 Million in Financing
WESTWOOD, Mass.– eCredit.com closed a $24 million round of financing with participation from Eastman Chemical Co., First Union Securities, Gateway, Inc., Hambrecht & Quist, Hewlett-Packard, Mellon Ventures, Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc., Vortex Partners and Wells Fargo. This Series E round of investment is intended to support growth of the eCredit.com Global Financing Network, a global electronic marketplace that enables fast, online credit and financing for both consumer and business transactions.
http://www.ecredit.com
Rotor Communications Rounds Up $20 Million Investment
NEW YORK– The Sprout Group, the venture capital affiliate of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Inc. (NYSE:
DLJ), led a $20 million second-round investment in Rotor Communications Inc., an early-stage new media company pioneering the broadcast of live interactive entertainment over the Internet. Rotor’s software brings two-way interactivity to streaming media and provides producers with a full range of tools for audience participation, including polling, mood metering and chat; as well as automatic collection and aggregation of attendance and participation data for audience profiling and targeted advertising. Stephen Diamond and Rob Stevenson of the Sprout Group are joining the Rotor board of directors as part of this investment.http://www.rotorcom.com
http://www.sproutgroup.com
Obongo Raises $20M in 2nd Round Financing
SAN FRANCISC — Obongo Inc. completed its second round of financing o
f approximately $20 million. Key new investors were Atlas Venture, Merrill Lynch, and VeriSign , while Sequoia Capital and others increased their previous equity stakes. Obongo provides solutions to help make e-commerce safer, faster and easier. These include tools to remember passwords, compare prices, fill out forms, search the Web, find the best deals online, and allow flexible e-mail forwarding.
http://www.obongo.com
http://www.atlasventure.com
http://www.verisign.com
http://www.sequoiacap.com
Alibaba.com Enters Into Partnership With SOFTBANK
HONG KONG– Alibaba.com Corp. and SOFTBANK Corp. announced that the two companies have reached an accord involving investment and joint venture partnerships which are part of a strategic plan to expand Alibaba’s business globally. A SOFTBANK-led syndicate will invest US$20 million in Alibaba. In addition, SOFTBANK will commit significant additional capital to establish joint ventures with Alibaba that will develop local versions of the Alibaba international trade site in Japanese, Korean and several European languages. Alibaba’s other investors include Goldman Sachs, Transpac Capital, Fidelity Capital, Venture TDF Pte Ltd of Singapore and Investor AB of Sweden.
http://www.alibaba.com
www.sbvc.com
Sierra Atlantic Receives $17.4 Million Investment
FREMONT, Calif. — Sierra Atlantic, an e-business integrator, secured $17.4 million in expanded financing from General Electric Equity (NYSE:
GE), New Enterprise Associates, and Walden International Investment Group. The new capital will accelerate Sierra Atlantic’s delivery of next-generation Internet solutions and services infrastructure.http://www.SierraAtlantic.com
http://www.geequity.com
http://www.nea.com
http://www.wiig.com
The Richardson Company Lands $14 Million in New Financing
PHILADELPHIA — The Richardson Company, a provider of sales training solutions for Fortune 1000 clients, secured $14 million in new venture financing from Capital Resource Partners. The financing enables Richardson to continue with implementation of an e-learning platform, e-commerce strategy, and the further development of Richardson’s worldwide channels and product base. Its internet/intranet delivered cu
rriculum is expected to be available by Feb. 15, 2000.
http://www.richardsonco.com
http://www.crp.com
Event Zero Closes $13,750,000 in First Funding Round
ARLINGTON, Mass.– E-business services firm Event Zero, which accelerates time-to-market for dot.com startups and new Internet spin-offs, completed $13,750,000 in a first round of financing. The round was led by Shawmut Capital Partners with investments from Trident Capital, Integral Capital Partners, Sparkventures and other select investors. Event Zero partners with emerging Internet companies exclusively, providing a range of services for launching e-businesses within an accelerated time frame.
http://www.eventzero.com
http://www.shawmutcapital.com
http://www.tridentcap.com
http://www.integralcapital.com
http://www.sparkventures.com
Gator.com Receives $11.7 Million in VC Funding
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.–Gator.com received its second round of venture capital funding totaling $11.7 million. Gator.com is the developer of Gator, a smart online companion that remembers passwords and fills in order forms at every site on the Web. The round was led by US Venture Partners with additional funding from Scott Cook (founder of Intuit, Inc), Andy Bechtolsheim (founder of Sun Microsystems and inventor of the Sun Sparcstation), Comdisco Ventures and Garage.com.
http://www.gator.com
http://www.usvp.com
WebVision Receives $11.6 Million Second Round Financing
TORRANCE, Calif.– WebVision, a comprehensive provider of full-scale e-business solutions, announced the combined investment of $11.6 million in series B preferred investment from several sources. TL Ventures and SCP Private Equity Partners invested $5 million each with $1.24 million coming from private investors. Combined with a $5.6 million series A preferred investment in late 1999, WebVision has secured nearly $17 million. WebVision helps companies quickly establish e-business relationships between customers, vendors and suppliers by providing comprehensive e-business applications and hosting services.
http://www.webvision.com
http://www.tlventures.com
IndX Closes $10 Million Venture Capital Roun
d
Aliso Viejo, Calif. – IndX Software Corp., which develops information solutions for the manufacturing enterprise and supply chain, closed a $10 million third round of venture funding. Participants in the round included Marwit Capital, Excalibur Partners, Sanders Morris Mundy, and First Analysis Venture Capital, a participant in the previous IndX round. XHQ from IndX is a web-based solution that enables users to securely monitor activities and operations throughout a distributed enterprise and its business partners in real-time. XHQ aggregates live data from disparate systems and provides visibility and analysis via a highly graphical, continually updating, browser-based environment.
http://www.indxhq.com
http://www.smmhou.com
http://www.firstanalysisvc.com
High Technology Solutions Secures $10 Million in Equity Financing
SAN DIEGO, Calif.–High Technology Solutions Inc. secured $10 million in equity financing from GE Equity and Hambrecht & Quist’s Access Technology Partners fund (an affiliate of H&Q and Chase Capital Partners). MACRO Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of HTS, likely will utilize the lion’s share of the proceeds. MACRO has visualization, database, and e-commerce technologies that support both business to business and business to consumer applications, and uses a suite of software and Internet products tailored for the high-growth automobile accessories market.
http://www.htshq.com
http://www.equitycapital.com
http://www.hamquist.com
Skulogix Secures $7M in Financing
TORONTO– Skulogix Inc., a provider of business-to-business e-commerce services, raised US $7 million from several investors. Mosaic Venture Partners is the lead investor contributing US $4M. Skulogix combines a sophisticated direct-to-consumer product fulfillment engine with a powerful web based vendor/merchant electronic exchange. Skulogix recently received a
strategic investment from Cyrk Inc., a full-service promotional marketing company specializing in the design and development of innovative high-impact promotional programs and products.http://www.skulogix.com
http://www.mosaicvp.com
SoftLock.com Announces Strategic Investments
MAYNARD, Mass.– SoftLock.com Inc. (OTCBB:
SLCK), a leader in merchandising digital content, announced the completion of fourth quarter 1999 financings totaling $5.75 million, involving both common stock and preferred stock. SoftLock.com’s preferred stock investors include Apex Investment Fund IV and RSA Security Inc. (NASDAQ:
RSAS), together with lead investor SI Venture Fund II LP.http://www.softlock.com
http://www.apexvc.com
RADNOR, Pa. — GAIN Capital, an on-line market for small to mid-sized foreign exchange contracts, closed a $5 million investment round. Cross Atlantic Technology Fund LP, a $150 million venture fund focused on investments in information technology companies in the United States, England, and Ireland, contributed $2.5 million. Other investors include Blue Rock Capital and certain individual investors. Scheduled to launch in February 2000, GAIN will act as a market maker via a real-time, Internet-based dealing system providing investors 24-hour access and commission-free FX trading.
http://www.xacp.com
OmniComm Finalizes $4.1 Million Funding
MIAMI — OmniComm Systems Inc. (OTC BB:
OMCM), an e-health solution provider for conducting Internet-based clinical trials with its web-based application TrialMaster, closed a private placement of preferred convertible shares totaling $4.1 million. The company will use the capital to fund global market development and technology investment/acquisition.http://www.omnicomm.com
SUMmedia.com Completes $4 Million Financing With Hollinger Digital
DENVER — SUMmedia.com Inc. (OTC BB:
ISUM) completed a strategic private placement investment of $4 million with Hollinger Digital Inc. The private placement consisted of 1,000,000 units to be issued by SUMmedia.com at a price of $4 per unit for gross cash proceeds of $4 million. This private placement by Hollinger represents an interest of approximately 6% in SUMmedia.com. SUMmedia had a $3 million private placement and a $1.5 million private placement in December 1999. Hollinger Digital Inc. is the new media investment arm of the global newspaper publisher Hollinger International Inc. (NYSE: HLR). SUMmedia.com provides online coupons as eCommerce opportunities for small business through its eCoupon portal, savingumoney.com.http://www.SUMmedia.com
TuneTo.com Seals $2.6 Million Series A Funding
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Next generation Internet music start-up TuneTo.com completed its first round, Series-A financing from crossover fund Whelan & Gratny Capital Management/Encinal Partners and a number of angel investors. The deal brings the total investment in the company to approximately $3 million and sets the stage for future funding (in progress).
http://www.tuneto.com
CertifiedMail.com Receives $2 Million Round of Equity Financing
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — CertifiedMail.com, a provider of secure e-mail to businesses and consumers worldwide, received a $2 million first round of equity financing from private and institutional investors. The investment group was led by Raghu Sugavanam, founder of Mercantile Software (now part of Harte-Hanks). Also participating are Joseph Viviano, vice chairman of Hershey Foods, and Martin Schoffstall, founder and CTO of PSINet. Gabelli Group Capital Partners and Hudson Ventures LP also participated in the investment. CertifiedMail.com provides a highly secure means of exchanging sensitive e-mail and attachments over the Internet, while tracking and reporting back to the sender when a recipient opens their message.
http://www.CertifiedMail.com
http://www.hudsonptr.com
Mohomine Completes Seed Capital Funding Round
LA JOLLA, Calif.– Mohomine received more than $1 million in seed capital from a syndicate of investors.A venture-funded round of approximately $4 million is expected to close at the end of the first quarter. The company expects to license its proprietary mohoEngine technology, a smart search engine platform that is based on sophisticated artificial intelligence routines, to Internet portals.
AutobyOwners.com Receives Funding from 3wVentures.com
MARINA DEL REY, Calif. — AutobyOwners.com, a new online Consumer to Consumer used car sales portal, will receive seed capital and incubation services from 3wVentures.com Inc., the Internet funding and incubation unit of Web Capital Group, Inc. (OTC BB:
WBCG). AutobyOwners.com will be funded and developed at the SiliconLosAngeles.com Internet technology incubator.http://www.3wVentures.com
GreenTravel.com Closes Second Round of Financing
WASHINGTON — GreenTravel.com, an adventure travel Web site, closed a multi-million dollar round of funding with the support of Gannett Co., Inc., New World Ventures and Potomac Ventures. GreenTravel.com hosts a large network of pre-screened tour operators. The site represents more than 800 operators who offer more than 4,500 trips through its searchable
database of worldwide travel opportunities.
http://www.greentravel.com
http://www.newworldvc.com
Openshop Holding AG Receives Intel Investment
ULM, Germany — Openshop Holding AG, an eBusiness company specializing in innovative eBusiness technologies, announced that Intel Corp. has invested in the company. Financial details were not disclosed. According to the company, one of the main competitive advantages of its Openshop products is that the eBusiness solution can be easily integrated into existing IT systems.
http://www.openshop.com
Novell Makes Investment in Business Layers
UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J.– Business Layers, a provider of directory-based software solutions, announced that Novell Ventures, the venture capital arm of Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:
NOVL), made an investment in the company. Details of the private round of financing were not disclosed. By leveraging directory services, Business Layers’ eProvisionware products are able to access an organization’s entire infrastructure and drive the allocation of IT resources and services according to business requirements. A beta release of the product is available now.http://www.businesslayers.com
http://www.novell.com
Bullet Point News Takes a Round
SAN DIEGO– Bullet Point News Inc., a pioneer in convergence-media, received an investment round led by Ignitio Partners and included Garage.com and Venture Catalyst (Nasdaq:
VCAT). The company’s flagship product, MBA Bullet Point (www.mbabulletpoint.com), is a source of news and information geared solely to MBA students nationwide.http://www.ignitiopartners.com
http://www.garage.com
http://www.vencat.com
LearningAction Receives Investment
BROOKLINE, Mass.– LearningAction Inc., a web-based training solutions provider, closed on a first round of outside funding. The investor, New York based Blue Ridge Capital LP, invested an undisclosed sum. LearningAction offers legal and compliance training courses and a web-based training platform.
http://www.learningaction.com
XMLFund Invests in PhotoTrust.com
BELLEVUE, Wash.– PhotoTrust.com, a new online system for storing, managing and retrieving photographs in any format, secured an investment from XMLFund. PhotoTrust.com is a leader in Photo-XML technology for business and consumer photo management and interchange. XMLFund fosters the growth of promising companies that use XML Technology.
http://www.phototrust.com
OTTAWA– Corel Corp. (NASDAQ:
CORL, TSE: COR) agreed to acquire up to a 30 per cent stake in OE/ONE.com, a start-up company developing an “Information Appliance” platform or thin-client Internet Appliance platform. Founded by former Corel executive Eid Eid this past year, OE/ONE.com has developed a software tool kit, specifications and an industrial design for the product, and is currently working with OEMs to develop the appliance, expected to hit the market in the sub-US $500 range.http://www.oeone.com
http://www.corel.com
Nuforia in Strategic Partnership with Omnicom
NEW YORK– Nuforia Inc. and Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:
OMC) announced that Omnicom has acquired a minority interest in Nuforia, a provider of integrated e-business and strategic branding solutions. Nuforia is privately held by a handful of institutional investors and employees. In addition to Omnicom, Nuforia’s major financial partners include Tallard Infologix NV, the European trust established by the renowned Wallenberg family, and Houston investment bank Sanders Morris Mundy. Nuforia is an Internet professional services company resulting from the 1999 merger of communications design firm Belk Mignogna Associates Ltd. and technology company Net Explorer Inc.http://www.nuforia.com
Internet Fact of the Day
GartnerGroup places the number of online exchanges — or e-marketplaces — at 9,000 by the end of 2005.
Reshuffling News
Perfumania Acquires Majority Stake In ArtToAuction.com
MIAMI — Perfumania Inc. (Nasdaq:
PRFM), a large discount perfumery chain, signed a Letter of Intent with Gallery Art Group Inc. to form a new venture to be named ArtToAuction.com, Inc. This transaction is scheduled for completion by mid February 2000. Perfumania will acquire 55% of the common stock of the new venture for an undisclosed amount of cash, which will become part of the initial capitalization of ArtToAuction.com Inc. Gallery Art Group Inc. will contribute all of its assets to the new venture. Gallery Art Group has a broker dealer network and is one of the largest fine art galleries in South Florida.
http://www.perfumania.com
http://www.gallart.com
perfumania.com to Acquire Envision Development
MIAMI — perfumania.com (Amex:
PF), an e-commerce fragrance and cosmetics retailer, signed a letter of intent to acquire Marlboro, Mass.-based Envision Development Corp., an e-business solutions provider. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.http://www.perfumania.com
Motive Communications Acquires Ventix Systems
AUSTIN, Texas — Motive Communications Inc., a leader in e-support, acquired Ventix Systems Inc., an Austin-based provider of question/answer e-support solutions for e-business applications. As a result of the acquisition, Motive will be the only company offering a full-service e-support solution for online businesses with “whole customer” support responsibilities for users both inside and outside the firewall, and from desktop to Intranet to Web-based technologies and services. Motive is backed by funding from Accel Partners, Attractor Investment Management, Austin Ventures, BT Alex Brown, Hambrecht & Quist, Intel, Palantir Associates, Phoenix Growth Capital, Piper Jaffray, Pivotal Asset Management, Silicon Valley Bank, SSM Venture Partners, and TL Ventures.
http://www.motive.com
Startec Acquires Indian Web Portal
BETHESDA, Md. — Startec Global Communications Corp. (Nasdaq:
STGC), a provider of communications services to ethnic communities worldwide, acquired SigmaNet Network Corp., the owner of Indians Abroad Online, an Indian Web portal. The acquisition provides Startec with access to localized and original content from throughout the global Indian community. This content will feature news, sports, cultural information and entertainment from New York, Toronto, London, Abu Dubai, Sydney and Bombay that will cater to Indian tastes and preferences. Startec recently acquired an interest in an Indian-based ISP.http://www.startec.com
HA-LO Industries Agrees to Acquire Starbelly.com
CHICAGO — HA-LO Industries Inc. (NYSE:
HMK), a brand marketing and promotional products industry leader, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Starbelly.com Inc., an internet business solution for custom-decorated merchandise. The value of the transaction is $240 million. Starbelly.com shareholders will receive $19 million in cash, with the balance in newly-issued shares of HA-LO common and preferred stock. Starbelly.com ownership includes its management team, as well as Chase Capital Partners and Flatiron Partners.
http://www.ha-lo.com
http://www.starbelly.com
OnDisplay Acquires Oberon Software
SAN RAMON, Calif. — OnDisplay Inc. (Nasdaq:
ONDS), a provider of Internet infrastructure software for powering e-business portals and e-marketplaces, signed an agreement to acquire privately held Oberon Software Inc., a provider of business process automation software and services for enabling e-business communities. OnDisplay will issue approximately 1,922,500 shares of common stock (valued at about $181 million) for all outstanding shares of Oberon and will assume all of Oberon’s outstanding options.http://www.ondisplay.com
http://www.oberon.com
ACT Teleconferencing Acquires Internet Service Provider
DENVER — ACT Teleconferencing Inc. (Nasdaq:
ACTT), a full-service global provider of audio, video, data and Internet conferencing products and services, acquired the Internet service provider division of Mueller Telecommunications Inc., a comprehensive service provider that will enable ACT to offer its clients a broad range of on-line conferencing, Web hosting and Internet access services.http://www.acttel.com
Janex International to Acquire oKid.Com
PHOENIX — Janex International Inc. (OTC BB:
JANX) has entered into an agreement to acquire http://www.oKid.com and other divisions of Futech Interactive Products with revenues totaling approximately $16.5 million. The oKid.com web site was launched on Sept. 1, l999, and was designed to produce a destination online that resembles an entertaining cartoon world environment rather than the traditional HTML experience.http://www.oKid.com
ANDOVER, Mass. and SAN FRANCISCO– CMGI Inc. (Nasdaq:
CMGI), a large and diverse network of Internet companies, acquired Green Witch LLC (The Green Witch Internet Radio), a provider of open source Internet radio broadcast solutions. Green Witch Internet radio runs on Icecast, an innovative open source audio streaming server software used by Internet media companies and personal broadcasters to stream MP3 music. Green Witch will become part of iCAST.
http://www.greenwitch.com
http://www.icast.com
http://www.cmgi.com
Fund News
Trident Capital Closes $350 Million Fund
MENLO PARK, Calif.– Trident Capital, a national venture capital firm that focuses on information technology and Internet companies, closed its Fund IV, a $350 million venture capital fund. Trident partners will concentrate Fund IV investments in early stage companies that are positioned to become leaders in the business-to-business Internet marketplace. Fund IV brings Trident’s total funds under management to over $650 million. The majority of Trident’s prior investments are in information and business services companies — from enterprise software providers to Intranet and Internet business-to-business services. Venetia Kontogouris and Peter Meekin were named partners.
http://www.tridentcap.com
Who’s Who & Where
Christophe J. Cremault Named President and COO of News Alert
NEW YORK — News Alert LLC, a domestic and international content and application service provider for finance Web sites, appointed Christophe J. Cremault to the position of president and chief operating officer. Cremault joins News Alert from Cap Gemini, the world’s third largest technology consultancy. Recently, an international investor consortium acquired the Internet company in a $22.5 million deal. The buyout was led by New Media Capital LLC. Also participating were the Pivotal Group, Hollinger Digital, Mondadori.com USA, an affiliate of Italy’s largest editor, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore SpA, and RAF Net Ventures.
http://www.newsalert.com
beenz.com Appoints President for Asia-Pacific Region
NEW YORK — beenz.com appointed David Yuen to the position of president, beenz.com Asia-Pacific. Prior to joining beenz.com, Yuen held the position of general manager of e-Business Applications for Oracle in South Asia. beenz is the universal web currency that can be earned by consumers by simply visiting, interacting with, or shopping at participating web sites. Beenz.com recently closed a $30 million
financing round.http://www.beenz.com
Cmetric Names John Kane as CEO
PALO ALTO, Calif.– Cmetric Inc., which offers very high speed data network services f
or the Metropolitan Area Network market, named John Kane as chief executive officer. Kane was most recently president and chief operating officer at ICG Communications Inc. Cmetric has attracted funding from Sevin Rosen Funds and Crosspoint Venture Partners.
http://www.cmetric.com
Maingate Names William V. Nutting as CEO
WILMINGTON, Del.– Maingate Corp. appointed William V. Nutting as chief executive officer of their Internet web site. Maingate is a vertical portal for the U.S. military community, retirees and their families. Nutting most recently served as executive vice president for First USA Bank. Maingate Corp. is backed by ITC Holdings and Seaboard & Co.
CarsDirect.com Adds COO, CIO to Executive Team
LOS ANGELES– CarsDirect.com, an automotive e-tailer, added two key positions to its executive management team. Christine Bucklin, formerly an entrepreneur-in-residence at technology incubator idealab! and a longtime McKinsey & Co. partner, will serve as chief operating officer. Debra Domeyer has been named chief information officer, bringing extensive information systems management experience from both the private and public sectors, including PG&E and the White House. The company is
funded by idealab! Capital Partners, Primedia Ventures, Foundation Capital, MSD Capital LP, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Hambrecht & Quist, E*O Investors, LLC, Oracle Corp., Liberty Digital, TMCT Ventures, East Peak Partners, L.P, Hikari Tsushin and Soros Private Equity Partners LLC.http://www.carsdirect.com
PeopleSupport Rounds Out Management Team
LOS ANGELES– PeopleSupport Inc., a provider of Internet customer care technologies and services, added two new executives to its management team. Abby Hossein joins PeopleSupport as chief information officer and Cormac Whelan as vice president of operations. PeopleSupport has received venture funding from Accel Partners, Benchmark Capital, idealab Capital Partners, and TMCT Ventures.
http://www.PeopleSupport.com
AuctionRover.com Names Vice President of Marketing
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.– AuctionRover.com – a resource for online auctions – appointed Jennifer Johnson as its vice president of marketing. She previously served as director of online sales and marketing for Internet retailer Value America Inc. The company has received funding from Draper and internet.com (NASDAQ:
INTM), publisher of this website.http://www.auctionrover.com
Mike Shaver Joins Zero-Knowledge Systems
SAN
JOSE, Calif.–Zero-Knowledge Systems Inc., a developer of Internet privacy and identity-management solutions, announced that Mike Shaver will join the company as its chief software officer. Shaver previously headed developer relations and open source evangelism for mozilla.org. Zero-Knowlege recently completed a $25 million
financing round.http://www.zeroknowledge.com
Neil Webber Joins AV Labs as Master Entrepreneur
AUSTIN, Texas — AV Labs, the new accelerator fund spun out of Austin Ventures, announced that Neil Webber joined the firm as a Master Entrepreneur. The Master Entrepreneur program provides portfolio companies with access to world-class, experienced entrepreneurs. Webber is the co-founder and former CTO of Vignette Corp.
http://www.avlabs.com
Venture Strategy Names James Glicker as Venture Partner
SAN FRANCISCO– Venture Strategy, an early stage venture capital fund, named James Glicker as Venture Partner. In his role at Venture Strategy, Glicker will work closely with Founding Partner, Joanna Rees Gallanter to identify early stage investments for VS-2, a venture capital fund. Glicker will also advise Venture Strategy’s current and future investments as a marketing advisor, focusing on the East Coast.
http://www.vspartners.com
Spectrum Equity Investors Announces New Managing General Partner
MENLO PARK, Calif.– Spectrum Equity Investors, an international private equity investment firm focused on the communications and information industries, announced that veteran venture capitalist Neal M. Douglas joined the firm as a managing general partner. Most recently, Douglas was a general partner at AT&T Ventures, the venture capital affiliate of AT&T Corp., which he co-founded in 1993.
http://www.spectrumequity.com
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