New in the News
CyberShop.com, eCollege.com, E-Dialog, Eployment.com, ePrize, Geneva Technology, Interland, Internet Commerce, Micro Tempus, netLibrary, OfficeDomain, Prairielaw.com, Trivnet, Zeros & Ones
Spectrum Equity Investors and Geocapital Partners Co-Lead $20M Equity Investment in Geneva Technology
FORT LEE, N.J.– Spectrum Equity Investors and Geocapital Partners announced a major equity investment in Geneva Technology Ltd., a telecommunications and e-commerce billing software specialist. The total capital infusion of over $20 million will enable Geneva Technology to accelerate its planned expansion into new target markets and geographies. Geneva Technology Ltd. , established in 1989 and based in Cambridge, England, specializes in convergent rating and billing software for the telecommunications, utilities and on-line service marketplaces.
http://www.gtl.com
http://www.spectrumequity.com
http://www.geocapital.com
Venture Capital Firms Invest $20 Million in Atlanta’s Interland
ATLANTA — Interland Inc. closed a $20 million combined investment capital deal with VC firms, Crest Communications Holdings, Boulder Ventures Limited, Mid-Atlantic Office, and BancBoston Capital. Interland is a leader in turnkey Web and application hosting solutions ranging from a basic Web site to a sophisticated e-commerce storefront.
http://www.interland.net
Internet Commerce Completes $19.5 Million Financing
NEW YORK– Internet Commerce Corp. (NASDAQ:
ICCSA) completed a $19.5 million equity financing. The participants included the previouslyannounced $10 million investment from Cable & Wireless, and commitments of $5 million from Acorn Investment Trust, $2.5 million from FIRMCO, and $2 million from Bantry Bay Ventures. ICC will issue a total of approximately 434,000 shares of its Class A Common Stock in this financing, in addition to the already announced details of the Cable & Wireless investment. The fundings were based on the market value of ICC’s Class A Common Stock on the date the Company entered into definitive agreements with the investors. These dates ranged from November 23-26, 1999.
http://www.icc.net
Trivnet Secures Over $12 Million in Second Round Funding
SARATOGA, Calif.– Trivnet Inc., a provider of secure Internet payment services, announced the close of the company’s second round of funding from investors China Development Industrial Bank, Magnum Communications, Singapore Telecom, Star Ventures and Viventures. This $12,600,000 round was lead by Star Ventures and will be used to fund domestic and international sales and marketing initiatives, strategic partnership efforts and continued technology research and development. Previous investors Euro-America and Veritas Venture Partners also participated in this round.
http://www.trivnet.com
CyberShop.com Completes $6 Million Round
JERSEY CITY, N.J.– CyberShop.com Inc (Nasdaq:
CYSP), an Internet retailer of branded merchandise, completed an additional round of private equity financing for gross proceeds of $6 million. The financing, completed with the same investor group as the September 30, 1999, financing of $5.1 million, also involved the issuance of common stock and warrants, both issued at prices above the previous trading days close. Over the near term additional shares may be issued to the investors under certain price conditions.http://www.cybershop.com
HO2 Leads $5 Million Dollar Investment in OfficeDomain
AUSTIN, Texas– HO2 Partners LLC, a Dallas-based Internet investment firm, led a $5 million private placement in OfficeDomain Inc. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, OfficeDomain is the developer of a client-based unified messaging platform that currently has more than 55,000 users worldwide. Joining HO2 in providing the $5 million commitment to OfficeDomain are several independent investors, including former Compaq executives Rod Canion and Gary Stimac; John McHale, founder of NetSpeed; and venture capitalist Berry Cash.
http://messageasap.com
http://www.ho2.com
Micro Tempus Completes $3.4M Financing
MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada — Micro Tempus Inc. completed a $3.4 million (CDN $5 million) private placement through Dundee Securities Corp. and Thomson Kernaghan & Co. Limited which was previously negotiated in September of thi
s year. The company has issued a total of 5,000,000 special warrants at a price of $1.00 per special warrant, with each special warrant entitling its holder to acquire one common share in the capital of Micro Tempus for no additional consideration. The net proceeds of the financing have been placed in escrow with General Trust of Canada, pending completion of the acquisition by Micro Tempus of the sports and entertainment division of BCE Emergis. Micro Tempus Inc. develops and markets software that facilitates network communications and promotes cross-platform connectivity.
http://www.microtempus.com
Consumer Law Site Receives $1.15 Million First Round
SEATTLE– Prairielaw.com, a law site that brings together information, resources and easy access to attorneys, said it received $1.15 million in its first round of financing. The investment was led by eFund International. Other investors in Prairielaw.com include early management and backers of Microsoft, Visio and InterNAP. Shortly after its move to Seattle from La Crosse, Wisconsin, Prairielaw.com established a strategic partnership with Lawyers.com, a service of Martindale-Hubbell, publisher of the definitive guide to the American legal profession since 1868.
http://www.prairielaw.com
Webhire Makes Strategic Investment in Eployment.com
LEXINGTON, Mass.– Webhire Inc. (NASDAQ:
HIRE), an application services provider in the business-to-business Internet recruiting marketplace, made a strategic investment in privately held Internet startup Eployment.com, the developer of a next-generation Internet recruiting service offering that combines profiling, assessment, and interactive communication tools. Webhire gains the right to use Eployment.com’s unique Internet recruiting technology, which features proprietary profiling, matching and assessment tools in its online corporate recruiting solutions.http://www.webhire.com
E-Dialog Forms Strategic Partnership With Interpublic
LEXINGTON, Mass. — E-Dialog, a provider of high-end direct-marketing services via e-mail, announced a strategic partnership with The Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:
IPG), a large organization of advertising agencies, communications and marketing services companies and related firms. This partnership – combined with a significant capital investment from Commonwealth Capital, OneLiberty Ventures and IPG — will help E-Dialog accelerate the deployment of its array of e-mail services.http://www.e-dialog.com
http://www.oneliberty.com
http://www.ccvlp.com
http://www.interpublic.com
Internet Fact of the Day
E-mail is quickly becoming the preferred method used by Americans to register their opinions with elected officials, according to the largest-ever online political survey of the nation’s “wired” citizens, conducted by Juno Online Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JWEB) and Internet advocacy consulting firm e-advocates. When asked whether members of Congress should treat e-mail messages as seriously as calls and letters, 93 percent of Internet users said “yes.”
Zeros & Ones Announces Investment Banking Agreement with RichMark Capital
LOS ANGELES– Zeros & Ones Inc. (OTCBB:
ZOZO) entered into an investment banking agreement with RichMark Capital Corp., an investment banking and brokerage firm. RichMark will act as an agent to Zeros & Ones in funding the company’s aggressive growth plan. This plan will be initiated with a $20 million private placement offered by RichMark, which will be utilized to fuel a group of key projects upon which Zeros & Ones will focus its resources. Zeros & Ones is an advanced media consortium and venture catalyst focused on the convergence of television and the Internet. The company develops technology, content, and services for e-business, broadband networks, and digital television.http://www.zerosones.com
Rare Medium Group Acquires ePrize
NEW YORK — Rare Ventures, the investment arm of Rare Medium Group Inc. (Nasdaq:
RRRR), acquired a majority stake in ePrize Inc. The terms of the transaction were undisclosed. This is Rare Medium’s fourth incubator company formed in 1999. As part of the transaction, ePrize entered into a services agreement with Rare Medium to provide web site consulting and development services. ePrize Inc. will be headquartered in Detroit with future offices planned for New York and San Francisco. ePrize Inc. is an online sweepstakes, direct marketing and promotions company that offers end-to-end solutions for customer acquisition and retention.http://www.eprize.net
http://www.raremedium.com
Who’s Who & Where
Jonathan Newcomb Joins netLibrary Board of Directors
BOULDER, Colo.– netLibrary, a provider of eBooks and information over the Internet, announced the appointment of Simon & Schuster chief executive officer Jonathan Newcomb to the netLibrary board of directors. In the 16 months since it was founded, netLibrary has built a collection of more than 9,300 eBook titles from 100 different publishers. Close to 1,000 libraries have access to netLibrary eBook collections. The company recently closed its third investment round, a combination of strategic and venture funding totaling $70 million.
http://www.netLibrary.comeCollege.com Appoints Bob Haimes Vice President of Marketing
DENVER — eCollege.com announced that Bob Haimes has joined the company as vice president of marketing. He joins the company from Procter & Gamble, where he held various marketing positions. eCollege.com is an application service provider building online courses for colleges and universities worldwide. It is backed by MediaOne Interactive Services Inc., a division of MediaOne Group (NYSE:
UMG); VSI Holdings (AMEX: VIS); New World Equities; and Blumenstein/Thorne Information Partners.http://www.eCollege.com
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