Author: Staff

  • Quantum Energy Partners Buys Carmel Bay Exploration

    Quantum Energy Partners has made a majority investment in Carmel Bay Exploration Ltd., the firm announced. Terms were not disclosed. Carmel Bay is a Calgary-based upstream exploration and development company focused on acquiring and developing assets in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The Company was founded in late 2011.

    PRESS RELEASE
    Quantum Energy Partners (“Quantum”), a leading energy private equity firm, is pleased to announce a majority investment in Carmel Bay Exploration Ltd. (“Carmel Bay” or the “Company”) with Canadian E&P veteran Patrick Manuel (“Patrick” or “Manuel”).

    Carmel Bay is a Calgary-based upstream exploration and development company focused on acquiring and developing assets in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The Company was founded in late 2011 and has concentrated its efforts to date in the Montney resource play where it has technical expertise. It will also leverage off of its prior experience across other select WCSB plays to opportunistically acquire and exploit other core assets. Quantum, members of the management team and the Company’s board of directors have collectively made initial investments and/or future capital commitments in excess of $225 million to the Company.

    The Carmel Bay team is led by Manuel as President and Chief Executive Officer. Manuel and his senior management team have had a consistent track record of creating value at several prior E&P companies. Most recently, Manuel was President and CEO of Monterey Exploration, a highly successful Montney focused operator. Prior to Monterey Exploration, Manuel was part of the senior management teams at Crispin Energy and Rio Alto Exploration, both of which resulted in successful exits to Canadian public entities.

    Carmel Bay board members include industry leaders Murray Nunns (CEO, Penn West Petroleum Ltd.), John Brussa (senior partner, Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer, LLP), Brett Herman (CEO, TORC Oil and Gas LTD), and Don Copeland (oilfield service entrepreneur) as well as Managing Directors Garry Tanner and Dheeraj Verma from Quantum who collectively bring decades of energy investment experience to support Carmel Bay management.

    Manuel remarked on the closing, “We spent significant time evaluating our financial options for growth capital and came to the conclusion that in the current volatile market, private equity capital, and more specifically Quantum, offered substantial and dependable capital which would allow us to take advantage of evolving market opportunities and grow our business relatively quickly with significant flexibility. We anticipate that with the Company’s slate of current projects, significant deal flow, and our new capital partner, Carmel Bay is positioned extremely well to build a meaningful and successful E&P company.”

    “We are excited to be in partnership with such an accomplished and focused upstream operating team. The Company has already assembled a significant initial acreage position in the Montney and is aggressively pursuing a variety of other opportunities which we believe over time will deliver superior returns to our investors,” said Garry Tanner, Managing Director of Quantum Energy Partners. “We were also impressed with the high caliber board members Patrick had pulled together, all of which have continued on with the Company post our capital infusion, and believe their involvement will be extremely value-added in guiding the growth and success of Carmel Bay.”

    About Carmel Bay Exploration, Ltd. Based in Calgary Alberta, Carmel Bay is led by a team of seasoned industry professionals, many with over 20 years in upstream engineering, geology, operations, marketing, and business development with a track record of success working in the WCSB.

    About Quantum Energy Partners Founded in 1998, Quantum Energy Partners is a leading provider of private equity capital to the global energy industry, having managed together with its affiliates, more than $6.5 billion in equity commitments since inception.

    The post Quantum Energy Partners Buys Carmel Bay Exploration appeared first on peHUB.

  • Shutterfly Buys MyPublisher

    Shutterfly Inc., the publicly traded maker of personalized photography products and services, has snapped up MyPublisher, a maker of photo book software. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

    PRESS RELEASE

    Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFLY), the leading manufacturer and digital retailer of high-quality personalized products and services, announced today that it has acquired MyPublisher, one of the pioneers in the photo book industry and creator of easy-to-use photo book-making software. The acquisition will combine MyPublisher’s photo book technology and highly specialized manufacturing capabilities with the Shutterfly platform to deliver a superior customer experience.

    “Shutterfly photo books continue to delight customers, bringing more consumers online to tell their stories and connect with friends and family in creative ways”

    “Shutterfly photo books continue to delight customers, bringing more consumers online to tell their stories and connect with friends and family in creative ways,” said Jeffrey Housenbold, president and CEO of Shutterfly. “By combining MyPublisher’s best in class software client with Shutterfly’s industry leading cloud based platform, we will continue to drive growth and set the standard for design, choice and quality in the personal publishing and social expression category.”

    “Shutterfly and MyPublisher share a common vision of enabling customers to create premium products that share their most precious memories,” said Carl Navarre, founder and CEO of MyPublisher. “Together, our teams will chart the course for the next generation of photo book creation, while enabling our customers to take advantage of Shutterfly’s industry-leading solutions for other personalized products.”

    Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. Shutterfly will discuss this transaction as part of its Q1 2013 financial results conference call on May 1, 2013 at 2:00 PM PT (5:00 PM ET).

    Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release includes certain forward-looking statements related to Shutterfly, Inc. within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management’s current estimates, assumptions, expectations or beliefs and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. These forward-looking statements are estimates reflecting the judgment of our senior management and actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements herein due to changes in economic, business, competitive, technological and/or regulatory factors, and other risks and uncertainties affecting the operation of the business of Shutterfly, Inc. For a list and description of risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to vary from forward-looking statements, see our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov. All of Shutterfly’s forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, are expressly qualified by this safe harbor statement and any other cautionary statements that may accompany such forward-looking statements. Shutterfly is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.

    About Shutterfly

    Shutterfly, Inc. is the leading manufacturer and digital retailer of high-quality personalized products and services offered through a family of lifestyle brands. Founded in 1999, the Shutterfly, Inc. family of brands includes Shutterfly, where your photos come to life in photo books, cards and gifts; Tiny Prints, premium cards and stationery for all life’s occasions; Wedding Paper Divas, wedding invitations and stationery for every step of the planning process; and Treat, personalized greeting cards that really stand out. For more information about Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFLY), visit www.shutterflyinc.com.

    About MyPublisher

    Since its founding in 1994, MyPublisher has established itself as one of the leaders in custom photo book software, bookstore quality printing and superior customer service. MyPublisher has sold and shipped more than five million photo books since 2002. In 2009 alone, MyPublisher experienced 10 million visitors to its website and more than 2 million downloads of its software. MyPublisher’s philosophy is simple–provide customers with intuitive, easy-to-use photo book-making software, give them end-to-end customer support, and deliver a finished book of superb workmanship.

    The post Shutterfly Buys MyPublisher appeared first on peHUB.

  • Expect Labs Adds Fresh Capital

    Intel Capital, Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, and Telefonica Digital have made a strategic investment in San Francisco-based Expect Labs, the company announced Tuesday. The company, which is making a platform for “intelligent digital assistants,” will use the money for development. Expect Labs was formed in 2011.

    PRESS RELEASE
    Expect Labs, a San Francisco startup that is developing a platform to power a new generation of intelligent digital assistants, today announced a strategic investment from Intel Capital, Samsung Venture Investment Corporation (SVIC), and Telefonica Digital. Expect Labs’ technology platform, the Anticipatory Computing Engine, is the first commercial solution designed to analyze and understand conversations in real-time and proactively find related information. This new strategic investment will accelerate Expect Labs’ efforts to extend their technology platform across different industry verticals and geographic markets.

    Founded in 2011, Expect Labs has pioneered the development of technology that enables our computing devices and applications to pay attention continuously and better anticipate the information that we need. Over the past two years, Expect Labs’ team of PhDs and research experts have developed a new class of technologies to understand the meaning of continuous conversations. Based on this understanding, Expect Labs’ platform can model the context of your interactions in real-time, and proactively find information you may want before you need to search for it. As part of this new strategic investment, Expect Labs will begin working to enable new types of context-aware, predictive intelligence in a wide variety of applications and devices.

    Intel Capital, Intel’s global investment organization, has been investing in a wide range of hardware and software technologies to both make computing devices more intelligent and context-aware and to help create new types of user interfaces driven by voice, touch, and gesture.

    “We are entering an era where the computing devices in our lives will not only be able to understand what we say, but they will also do a much better job anticipating the information we may need, “said Dave Flanagan, Intel Capital. “We look forward to working with Expect Labs to explore ways to achieve this vision.”

    Samsung Venture Investment Corporation (SVIC) is the global investment arm of Samsung, the leading global manufacturer of mobile devices and flat-panel displays. Through this partnership, SVIC expects to empower Expect Labs to enable new types of intelligent, voice-driven and context aware behavior across a wide range of devices including smartphones, tablets and smart TVs.

    “Expect Labs has taken a unique approach to modeling context using sensor signals, such as GPS and audio, that are available in the new generation of computing devices, ” said Brannon Lacey, Principal at Samsung Venture Investment Corporation. “We think this approach is an important step toward creating a new layer of application and device intelligence.”

    With over 315 million customers, Telefonica is one of the largest telecommunications operators worldwide. As part of its investment, Telefonica intends to utilize Expect Labs’ technology and expertise to enhance several product lines including next-generation communications applications and advertising initiatives.

    Tracy Isacke, Head of Telefonica Digital Ventures, commented: “Expect Labs is at the cutting edge of the future of search, developing solutions that will change the way we discover and share information. We see huge potential for its technology across all areas of our business, and this investment opens the door to close collaboration between our technical teams.”

    “In just a few years, we will live in a world where the connected devices all around us will know who we are, understand what we say, and be far more capable of interpreting our intentions and anticipating our needs, ” added Timothy Tuttle, Expect Labs CEO and founder. “We are delighted that leading global companies like Intel Capital, Samsung Investment Venture Corporation and Telefonica Digital share this vision, and we are looking forward to exploring ways to work with them to create a new generation of intelligent applications and devices.”

    Intel Capital, Samsung Venture Investment Corporation and Telefonica Digital will join Expect Labs’ existing investors, including Google, Greylock, Bessemer, IDG Ventures, KPG Ventures, Quest Venture Partners as well as several well-known angel investors.

    Since emerging from stealth mode in 2012, Expect Labs has been widely recognized as a leader in the fast-emerging field of Anticipatory Computing and has received numerous accolades. Expect Labs was selected as a finalist at the 2012 TechCrunch Disrupt startup competition, the 2013 CES Mobile App Showdown, and the 2013 SXSW Innovative Technology Accelerator. Expect Labs’ iPad app MindMeld was also selected as “Best in Show” at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show and was featured by Popular Science as one of the “hottest gadgets” of 2013.

    About Expect LabsExpect Labs is a technology company based in San Francisco that is building a platform to power a new generation of digital assistants that can understand continuous conversation and find the information you want before you need to search for it. Expect Labs is also the creator of the iPad app called MindMeld, which is the first intelligent assistant that can actually understand your conversations in real-time to make it easy to find and share related information as you talk. Expect Labs was founded in early 2011 by successful, repeat entrepreneurs who have built and sold large-scale Internet businesses. The team includes PhDs and world-class researchers from places like the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, Carnegie Mellon University, Bell Labs and HP Labs. The company is backed by Google, Samsung, Intel, Greylock Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, IDG Ventures, KPG Ventures, Quest Venture Partners and several prominent angels. For more information on Expect Labs, visit www.expectlabs.com or follow @ExpectLabs and @GetMindMeld on Twitter.

    About Intel CapitalIntel Capital, Intel’s global investment and M&A organization, makes equity investments in innovative technology start-ups and companies worldwide. Intel Capital invests in a broad range of companies offering hardware, software, and services targeting enterprise, mobility, health, consumer Internet, digital media and semiconductor manufacturing. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than US$10.8 billion in over 1,276 companies in 54 countries. In that timeframe, 201 were acquired or participated in a merger. In 2012, Intel Capital invested US$352 million in 150 investments with approximately 57 percent of funds invested outside North America. For more information on Intel Capital and its differentiated advantages, visit www.intelcapital.com or follow @Intelcapital.

    About Samsung Venture Investment CorporationSamsung Venture Investment Corporation manages investment and investment-related activities for Samsung affiliate companies. The investment mandate for Samsung Venture Investment Corporation tracks closely to the strategic priorities of Samsung affiliate companies’ core operating divisions, and encompasses investments in semiconductors, displays, telecommunications, and consumer electronics.

    About Telefonica DigitalTelefonica Digital is a global business division of Telefonica. Its mission is to seize the opportunities within the digital world and deliver new growth for Telefonica through research & development, venture capital, global partnerships and digital services such as cloud computing, mobile advertising, M2M and eHealth. It is also driving innovation in over the top communications under a new umbrella brand called TU and in Big Data through Telefonica Dynamic Insights.

    Telefonica Digital will deliver these new products and services to Telefonica’s 315 million customers as well as entering new markets. It is headquartered in London with regional centres in Silicon Valley, Sao Paulo, Spain and Tel Aviv. Jajah, Terra, Media Networks Latin America, 48 and giffgaff are all managed under the Telefonica Digital umbrella.

    The post Expect Labs Adds Fresh Capital appeared first on peHUB.

  • Shazam Names Rich Riley CEO

    Shazam, maker of the smartphone music app, has named Rich Riley Chief Executive Officer. Andrew Fisher, who has led Shazam as CEO since 2005, will now take a newly created position of Executive Chairman. John Pearson who has been Chairman of the Board since 2006 will become a Non-Executive Director and remain on the board, the company said. Shazam investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, DN Capital, Institutional Venture Partners and Acacia Capital.

    PRESS RELEASE
    Shazam®, the world’s leading media engagement company, today announces that Rich Riley has joined the company as Chief Executive Officer. Shazam further announces that Andrew Fisher, who has dynamically lead Shazam as CEO since 2005, has been appointed to the newly created full-time position of Executive Chairman. John Pearson who has been Chairman of the Board since 2006 will become a Non-Executive Director and remain on the board.
    With Riley and Fisher in their new positions, and the recent hire of the BBC’s Daniel Danker as Chief Product Officer joining the existing executive team, Shazam now has put into place an executive leadership team that will accelerate the company’s growth trajectory while continuing to deliver innovation for Shazam’s products and services as the company pursues new market opportunities. Shazam now has more than 300 million users in over 200 countries worldwide.
    “I am extraordinarily excited to be joining the Shazam team. Andrew Fisher has assembled a world-class organization that has made Shazam a global consumer brand that provides an exceptional consumer experience and has set the stage for the company’s next phase of growth,” said Rich Riley. “I look forward to extending our dominance in media engagement, from our roots in music to our leadership position in second-screen TV and want to ensure that Shazam is the company that helps people recognize and engage with the world around them.”
    “I couldn’t be more pleased to welcome Rich Riley as Shazam’s new Chief Executive Officer,” said Andrew Fisher. “Rich brings a tremendous amount of experience both as an Internet executive where he has rapidly scaled global businesses, to establishing strategic relationships with advertisers and partners, as well as his entrepreneurial approach and skills. Whilst Rich will run our business I will now spend more time focusing on our corporate development and future strategy including our ambitions to deliver a successful IPO for our shareholders as we look to become an increasingly important part of people’s everyday lives, helping them engage with content and brands in the most efficient way possible.”
    “I would like to thank John Pearson for his tremendous support as Chairman of Shazam over the past seven years,” continued Fisher. “John has worked tirelessly on behalf of our shareholders and I am delighted he will continue to help the company sustain its success as a board member and Non-Executive Director.”
    Featured by Fortune as one of their 40 Under 40: Ones to watch for 2011, Rich Riley joins Shazam with more than 17 years experience as an entrepreneur and leading Internet executive. Most recently, Riley was EVP Americas for Yahoo! where he was responsible for billions of dollars of revenue and managed a team of thousands, overseeing sales, account management, ad operations, B2B marketing, research and business development across the US, Canada and
    
    LatAm. Prior to that, Riley held a variety of roles including MD & SVP of the EMEA Region, SVP of the Small & Medium Business Division as well as corporate and business development roles.
    Prior to his more than 13 years with Yahoo, Riley was co-founder and Managing Member of the Internet start-up Log-Me-On.com that developed and patented what is today the Yahoo! Toolbar, which counts hundreds of millions of users and was sold to Yahoo! in 1999. Prior to joining Yahoo! and starting Log-Me-On.com, Riley worked as a Financial Analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in New York City. He graduated Wharton with a BSc. in Economics with Majors in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and four children and will be based in Shazam’s New York office.
    Andrew Fisher has served as CEO of Shazam since 2005, leading the company to its current status as a global brand. Fisher has grown the user base since the launch of the app in 2007 to over 300 million users currently – consistently adding more than two million new users every week. The Shazam App is a top 10 app of all time on iOS in terms of installs, is used by over 60 million monthly active users, and drives $300 million in digital sales per year through affiliate partnerships like iTunes and Amazon. Andrew joined Shazam from InfoSpace Inc where he was European Managing Director. At InfoSpace Andrew led the company’s significant European growth focusing on music and entertainment services for mobile operators and portal solutions for many leading online service providers. Andrew has led the successful growth of a number of technology-focused enterprises, founding and serving as Managing Director of TDLI.com, which was acquired by InfoSpace Inc, with an enterprise value of $400m after being set up 18 months previously.
    The Shazam for TVTM service, launched in 2011 in the United States for advertising and select television programmes, was expanded in September 2012 to include all US nationwide programming on 160+ channels, essentially every show on every channel. In the last year, over 10 million people in the U.S. have used Shazam as a TV companion app with TV shows and live events, gaining instant access to a blend of show-specific mobile-optimized content and social features, conveniently in one place. Features include the music in the broadcast, cast photos, gossip, tweets about the show, links to official sites, IMDB and Wikipedia, and commerce links to buy show-branded merchandise and previous episodes or renting or buying the movie. Shazam produces custom second-screen experiences for select tent-pole TV events such as the GRAMMY® Awards, the Super Bowl, and the Olympic Games, as well as popular programs such as “American Idol” and “Girls.”
    In the last year, Shazam for TV Advertising, which started in North America, was expanded to the UK, Western Europe and Asia Pacific. Shazam for TV is already generating double-digit millions in revenues, with Shazam for TV Advertising integrated into over 250 TV ad campaigns since launch, including those for A-list global brands such as Pepsi, Toyota, Barclays, Sony Entertainment and many more. Shazam is making TV advertising interactive, essentially “clickable”; people can tap one button and in just a few seconds, instantly arrive at a rich experience for the brand within the Shazam App, extending the 30-second TV ad into several minutes of engagement, getting more information and special offers, and even shopping from the sofa.
    Shazam investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, DN Capital, Institutional Venture Partners and Acacia Capital
    ENDS
    About Shazam

    Shazam is the world’s leading media engagement company with more than 300 million people in 200 countries and adding another 2 million new users each week. With the industry’s unlimited fastest tagging in the Free and premium Encore Apps on iOS and Android devices, Shazam is the best way for people to discover, explore, buy, and share more music, TV shows and branded content they love.
    Shazam makes it easy for people to share their discoveries with their friends on Facebook using the Shazam Friends feature, as well as on Twitter and Google+. For people who don’t yet have the Shazam application on their smartphone, it is available for FREE on every major platform and can be found on iTunes App Store, Google play, Amazon App Store, AT&T’s AppCenter, Verizon VCast app store, Nokia Store, Windows Phone Marketplace, BlackBerry App World, and GetJar..
    For further information about Shazam Entertainment visit www.shazam.com and @ShazamNews. You can also follow us on Facebook or Google+. For daily music updates follow the Shazam Blog and @Shazam. Shazam Media enquiries: [email protected]
    The Shazam, Shazam Encore, LyricPlay, Shazam for TV names and icons are trademarks of Shazam Entertainment Limited.

    The post Shazam Names Rich Riley CEO appeared first on peHUB.

  • Clean Power Finance Adds Michael Pope as CFO

    Clean Power Finance, an online marketplace for distributed solar financing, has named Michael Pope as chief financial officer. He joins from MarketTools.com, where he was COO and CFO. Prior to MarketTools.com, Michael served as VP for the office of the CEO of BearingPoint and as president and COO of Network General.

    PRESS RELEASE
    Clean Power Finance, the online marketplace for distributed solar financing and provider of solar sales and design software, today announced the appointment of Michael Pope as chief financial officer (CFO). Michael brings deep experience managing the financial strength of fast-growing public and private companies to Clean Power Finance.

    “Michael has helped build great businesses for twenty years and has led the finance organizations of many successful public companies,” said Nat Kreamer, CEO of Clean Power Finance. “He also understands how to manage traditional technology businesses. We are very excited for him to help build Clean Power Finance.”

    Before joining the company, Michael was the COO and CFO of MarketTools.com, which was acquired by Texas Pacific Group (TPG). Prior to MarketTools.com, Michael served as VP for the office of the CEO of BearingPoint and as president and COO of Network General, which was acquired by NetScout Systems NTCT -1.04% . Before that, he was president and CEO of DigitalThink , EVP and CFO of Dionex , and a bank examiner at the New York Federal Reserve. Michael has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley.

    “CPF has all the ingredients for success,” said Michael. “It combines the business model of a Silicon Valley tech company with the sophisticated products and services of a finance company, and is led by a great team. I’m excited to help take it to the next level.”

    Clean Power Finance’s management team includes solar finance pioneer and SunRun co-founder Robert “Nat” Kreamer; former IBM global sales executive Robert Prigge; Clean Power Finance co-founder and CPF Tools creator Adam Marsh; former Tioga Energy executive Kristian Hanelt; residential solar experts and Sungevity veterans Kirstin Hoefer and Nick Mack; venture capital veteran Micah Myers; Discover bank leader Steve Olszewski; and former Burnham Energy president Greg Sellers.

    About Clean Power Finance

    Clean Power Finance is driving the mass-market adoption of residential solar with the CPF Market(TM), its online business-to-business marketplace connecting the solar industry and the capital markets, and CPF Tools(TM), the leading solar sales software-as-a-service platform. Clean Power Finance provides solar professionals, including marketers, installers, manufacturers and distributors, with access to a variety of 100% third-party owned, non-exclusive, white-label residential finance products and an easy-to-use solar sales quoting and design tool. The company’s makes it easy for institutional investors and lenders to invest in residential solar projects that provide reliable rates of return.

    The post Clean Power Finance Adds Michael Pope as CFO appeared first on peHUB.

  • RetailNext Adds $15M

    San Jose, Calif.-based RetailNext Inc. has raised $15 million in Series C financing. The company, a provider of analytics that enable retailers and manufacturers to monitor, collect, analyze, and visualize in-store data, is backed by StarVest Partners, August Capital, Nokia Growth Partners and Commerce Ventures. StarVest Partners led the latest round, with General Partner Laura Sachar joining the company’s board. John Gardner, a managing partner at Nokia Growth Partners, joins as board observer. This round brings the total capital raised by RetailNext to $29 million.

    PRESS RELEASE
    RetailNext Inc., the leader in Applied Big Data for brick-and-mortar retail, today announced the completion of $15 million in Series C financing led by new investor StarVest Partners. All existing investors, including August Capital, participated in the round, which also added strategic investments from Nokia Growth Partners and Commerce Ventures. Timed with the new investment, Laura B. Sachar, General Partner, StarVest Partners, joined RetailNext’s Board of Directors and John Gardner, Managing Partner, Nokia Growth Partners (NGP), joined as Board Observer. This round brings the total capital raised by RetailNext to $29 million.

    “RetailNext offers StarVest a winning combination for a growth equity investment: proven and smart management, a growing roster of customers and a unique and timely offering. The retail sector continues to embrace the RetailNext platform because there is clear value in improving performance of brick-and-mortar stores, particularly by measuring and testing myriad data sources within those walls. It’s a clear fit for our data-as-a-service practice,” stated Ms. Sachar.

    The first technology platform to bring e-commerce style shopper analytics to brick-and-mortar stores, RetailNext enables retailers to collect and correlate data from the broadest available set of sources including video cameras, point-of-sale (POS) systems, Wi-Fi devices, and time and attendance applications. More than 60 retailers have adopted RetailNext to glean the insights necessary to increase same-store sales, reduce theft, eliminate unnecessary costs, and improve the customer experience.

    “Considering that ninety-five percent of purchasing still takes place in the brick-and-mortar channel, it is not surprising that we’ve seen a strong appetite among retailers to collect the factual knowledge about shopper behavior that can directly lead to bottom-line improvement. This rapid adoption is driving more than triple year-over-year revenue growth for the company,” said Alexei Agratchev, CEO of RetailNext.

    Recognized by Fast Company as one of the “Ten Most Innovative Companies in Big Data,” RetailNext will use the additional investments to:

    – Expand engineering resources to maintain product superiority as the market’s most robust, versatile and feature-rich in-store analytics platform

    – Deliver advanced new technology components in response to customer demand, including new detection and predictive analytics capabilities

    – Grow global operations in Europe, Asia/Pacific and Latin America

    – Promote the category throughout the retail industry.

    “RetailNext’s unique combination of video, Wi-Fi and mobile data collection enables a real breakthrough in how both offline and online sources will improve ROI for retailers,” said Mr. Gardner. “By combining the NGP local everywhere approach and Nokia’s location expertise, we will help RetailNext drive its international expansion.”

    “At this stage for RetailNext, we chose investors who can truly partner with us to expand into new markets and continue delivering unmatched in-store analytics innovations. Each of our capital partners values the business impact and growth potential that our world-class team and platform bring,” added Mr. Agratchev.

    About Nokia Growth PartnersNokia Growth Partners invests in companies that are changing the face of mobility, communications and the internet. NGP offers industry expertise, capital and an extensive network, enabling entrepreneurs to build disruptive, industry-changing companies and take them to the global market. With offices in the US, Europe, India and China, NGP extends the reach of companies making their products and services local everywhere. Visit www.nokiagrowthpartners.com for more information.

    About StarVestStarVest Partners is a New York-based venture capital firm with $400 million under management, which funds technology-enabled business services companies throughout the U.S. The firm’s value-added partnership maintains a focus on emerging technology and services sectors including: Cloud-based companies, eCommerce services, Ad Tech and Data Analytics. StarVest was an early investor in the software-as-a service trend: in 2000, it invested as the only venture firm in NetSuite N +3.44% . Other noteworthy exits include MessageOne, acquired by Dell computer; Connected, acquired by Iron Mountain; iCrossing acquired by Hearst; Insurance.com acquired by QuinStreet; and Fieldglass acquired by Madison Dearborn. Recent investments include: Host Analytics, Switchfly, The Receivables Exchange, Veracode and Xignite. More information is available at www.starvestpartners.com.

    About RetailNext RetailNext is the leader in Applied Big Data for brick-and-mortar retail, delivering real-time analytics that enable retailers and manufacturers to monitor, collect, analyze, and visualize in-store data. The patent-pending solution uses best-in-class video analytics, Wi-Fi detection, on-shelf sensors, and data from point-of-sale systems and other sources to automatically inform retailers about how people engage with their stores. The highly scalable RetailNext platform easily integrates with promotional calendars, staffing systems, and even weather services to analyze how internal and external factors impact customer shopping patterns – providing store operations executives with the ability to identify opportunities for growth, execute changes, and measure success.

    RetailNext tracks more than 400 million shoppers per year by collecting data from more than 30,000 sensors in retail stores and analyzing trillions of data points annually.

    The post RetailNext Adds $15M appeared first on peHUB.

  • Accel Partners Names Rob Solomon a Venture Partner

    Rob Solomon, the former president and chief operating officer for Groupon, has joined Silicon Valley venture firm Accel Partners as a venture partner. He will focus on evaluating early stage and growth equity opportunities with Accel. Prior to Groupon, Solomon was a venture partner at TCV and also worked as chief executive of travel-focused search engine SideStep.

    PRESS RELEASE
    Accel Partners, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm focusing on early stage and growth equity investments, today announced the addition of Rob Solomon as Venture Partner. Most recently, he served as President & COO for Groupon responsible for sales, marketing, business development, operations & international as the company experienced rapid growth going from 100 employees to 6,000.

    As Venture Partner, Rob will be evaluating early stage and growth equity opportunities with Accel. He will also play a major role in advising the firm’s portfolio companies on a wide range of strategic and operational issues like product management, scaling infrastructure, business operations, and mergers and acquisitions. Accel Partners has been an early investor in leading consumer internet companies including Dropbox, Etsy, Facebook, Kayak, Prezi, Rovio (Angry Birds), Trulia, and Vox Media.

    “Rob is a successful and proven executive and investor who adds tremendous value to our firm and we are excited to have him join us,” said Accel Partner Andrew Braccia. “He has been at the helm of some of the most high profile consumer internet brands and has demonstrated a unique ability to inspire and lead teams through both rapid growth and challenging times.”

    Solomon brings more than 18 years of experience as an investor and consumer technology executive to Accel. Prior to Groupon he was a Venture Partner at TCV and CEO of SideStep, the web’s first real-time vertical search engine in the travel category. Under his leadership the company experienced a successful turnaround and merger with Kayak. Prior to SideStep, Solomon was a member of Yahoo!’s executive management team and served as Senior Vice President, Commerce.

    “Accel has an excellent reputation for putting their portfolio companies at the center of everything that they do, and I believe that philosophy has been core to their success over the past 30 years,” said Solomon. “I’m very excited to be working along side the brightest investors and entrepreneurs around, to help identify and scale Internet technologies that will transform our world.”

    Over the course of his career, Solomon has served on a number of boards and currently sits on the board of directors for HomeAway AWAY -0.16% , HighGear Media (Accel Partners and Greylock) and the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA. Solomon holds a bachelor’s in history from the University of California, Berkeley.

    Accel BackgroundFounded in 1983, and managing over $9.6 billion in capital, Accel Partners has a long history of partnering with outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams to build world-class businesses. Accel today invests globally using dedicated teams and market-specific strategies for local geographies, with offices in Palo Alto, California, New York City, London, and Bangalore, as well as in China via its partnership with IDG-Accel.

    Accel has helped entrepreneurs build over 300 successful technology companies, many of which have defined their categories, including 99designs, Actuate, AdMob, Agile Software, Alfresco, Angry Birds (Rovio), Atlassian, BBN, Bonobos, Braintree, Brightcove, Cloudera, ComScore, Diapers.com (Quidsi), Dropbox, Etsy, Exclusively.in, Facebook, Flipkart, Fusion-IO, Gameforge, GlamMedia, Groupon, Imperva, Infinera, Interwoven, IronPlanet, JBoss, Kayak, Lookout, Macromedia, metroPCS, MoPub, Myntra, OPOWER, Polycom/PictureTel, Playfish, Portal Software, QlikTech, Rapt, Real Networks, Redback, Responsys, Riverbed, Spotify, Squarespace, SunRun, Trulia, UUNet, Veritas, Walmart.com, Webroot, Wonga, XenSource and Zimbra.

    The post Accel Partners Names Rob Solomon a Venture Partner appeared first on peHUB.

  • Harvest Partners Buys AxelaCare

    Harvest Partners has completed the acquisition of AxelaCare Holdings Inc., buying the company from Denver-based buyout shop Excellere Partners. Terms were not disclosed. Harvest Partners is based in New York.

    PRESS RELEASE
    Harvest Partners, LP (“Harvest”), a New York-based private equity firm, and the management team of AxelaCare Holdings, Inc. (“AxelaCare” or the “Company”) have completed the acquisition of the Company from Excellere Partners, a Denver, CO-based private equity firm. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

    Based in Lenexa, Kansas, AxelaCare is a full-service home infusion therapy provider. Therapies provided range from immune globulin (IG) therapy to antibiotics and nutrition therapy for patients across the United States. The Company also provides real value to practitioners, insurers and manufacturers through its proprietary outcomes management technology called CareLogix that monitors and measures the efficacy of IG therapy based on real-time outcomes and therapy response data.

    AxelaCare’s management team, including CEO Ted Kramm and President Kathee Kramm, will continue to lead the Company.

    “Healthcare is a key area of interest for Harvest and we have been impressed by AxelaCare’s rapid rise to become the fifth largest provider of IG therapy in the U.S. in just four years,” said Ira Kleinman, Senior Managing Director at Harvest Partners. “The company’s investment in processes, technology and people has led to an efficient, scaleable model with opportunity for continued growth as a larger share of the population seeks access to these vital services.”

    “We are pleased to partner with Ted and his team to guide the company’s organic growth as well as to pursue strategic acquisitions that will build on AxelaCare’s success,” added Jay Wilkins, Managing Director at Harvest.

    “We are proud of our proprietary technology, CareLogix, which will ensure a positive patient experience and superior medical outcome in a home setting. CareLogix has been a key factor in our ability to attract new referral sources, manufacturers, insurers and patients, and we look forward to further developing the technology in conjunction with our partners at Harvest,” said Ted Kramm, Chief Executive Officer.

    Senior debt was arranged by GE Capital, Ares Capital Corporation and BMO Capital Markets. Oaktree Capital Management and Northwestern Mutual Capital provided mezzanine debt financing. Jefferies and White & Case LLP advised Harvest. Houlihan Lokey and Greenberg Traurig LLP advised the Company.

    Ira D. Kleinman (Senior Managing Director), Jay Wilkins (Managing Director) and Paige Daly (Principal) of Harvest will be joining AxelaCare’s Board of Directors.

    About AxelaCare
    Founded in 2008, AxelaCare is a leading high-growth technology-enabled provider of home infusion services for chronic and acute conditions. The Company, based in Lenexa, Kansas, is the fifth largest and one of the fastest growing national providers of immune globulin (IG) treatment, supported by its patient-centric approach and clinical leadership. AxelaCare has leveraged its expertise to develop CareLogix, an innovative and proprietary outcomes technology to assess the impact of IG treatment, which helps optimize therapy management for patients and provides value to practitioners, insurers and manufacturers.

    About Harvest Partners
    Founded in 1981, Harvest Partners, LP (www.harvpart.com) is a leading New York-based private equity investment firm pursuing management buyouts and recapitalizations of middle market companies in North America. Harvest focuses on acquiring profitable companies in the business and industrial services, manufacturing and distribution, healthcare, midstream energy, and consumer products and retail sectors. This strategy leverages Harvest’s 31 years of experience in financing organic and acquisition-oriented growth companies.

    The post Harvest Partners Buys AxelaCare appeared first on peHUB.

  • Razorsight Inks $3M Debt Financing

    Razorsight, a provider of cloud-based analytics for the communications industry, has sealed a $3 million loan facility from Horizon Technology Finance Corporation. The money will be used for expansion.

    PRESS RELEASE

    Razorsight, the global leader in cloud-based analytics for the communications industry, announced that the company has closed a $3 million loan facility from Horizon Technology Finance Corporation HRZN -0.90% (“Horizon”). The new financing will support Razorsight’s continued product and market expansion.

    “In response to increasing demand by the world’s leading communications providers, Razorsight is accelerating our global expansion and product roadmap,” said Razorsight CEO Charlie Thomas. “This new funding will help extend Razorsight’s leadership in developing cutting edge analytics capabilities that improve our customers’ financial performance.”

    “Razorsight is the pioneer and market leader in cloud-based business intelligence and analytics solutions for the communications industry,” said Gerald A. Michaud, President of Horizon. “The company’s platform technology is the industry benchmark for telecom, mobile and cable companies that seek to drive measurable value from their big data. We are pleased to provide Razorsight with capital to further accelerate their strong market momentum worldwide.”

    About Razorsight Razorsight’s cloud-based analytics software is used by the world’s largest communications providers to improve profits. Razorsight monitors network and subscriber activities to control costs, predict churn, gain insight into M2M and OTT activity, and measure profitability by customer, service type, or region. Customers benefit from unlocking key strategic insights to increase customer lifetime value (CLV). Razorsight’s highly scalable, cloud applications are non-intrusive, easy to install, require no capital investment, and have delivered millions of dollars in profit gains at industry leaders including AT&T, Verizon, Telus, Comcast, Cbeyond, CenturyLink, Facebook, Windstream, T-Mobile, Telekomunikacja Polska (TP Group), Tata and IBM.

    About Horizon Technology Finance Horizon Technology Finance Corporation is a business development company that provides secured loans to development-stage companies backed by established venture capital and private equity firms within the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, and clean-tech industries. The investment objective of Horizon Technology Finance is to maximize total risk-adjusted returns by generating current income from a portfolio of directly originated secured loans as well as capital appreciation from warrants to purchase the equity of portfolio companies. Headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, with regional offices in Walnut Creek, California and Reston, Virginia, the Company is externally managed by its investment advisor, Horizon Technology Finance Management LLC. Horizon’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol, “HRZN.” In addition, the Company’s 7.375% Senior Notes due 2019 trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “HTF.” To learn more, please visit www.horizontechnologyfinancecorp.com.

    The post Razorsight Inks $3M Debt Financing appeared first on peHUB.

  • Fredrick Scott Launches Firm

    Fredrick D. Scott, formerly the head of ACI Capital Group, has launched a venture capital and private equity firm, FDS. The firm will focus on minority-focused financial and banking institutions.

    PRESS RELEASE

    Fredrick D. Scott announced today that he has launched Fredrick D. Scott, LLC (FDS). FDS is a venture capital and private equity firm that will principally invest in and acquire minority-focused financial and banking institutions.

    Scott was formerly the head of ACI Capital Group, LLC (ACI). Founded in August 2009 and registered as an Investment Advisor with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, ACI was a privately held investment banking and advisory firm that managed $3.7 billion in assets.

    “My goal is to redefine and advocate for economic sustainability and wealth creation in our community,” said Scott. “The minority banking industry, more specifically the African American owned banking segment, is fragmented and under tremendous pressure from larger and more robustly capitalized mainstream competitors who have embraced the growing diversity of the marketplace. I believe that, in addition to capital, I can contribute fresh energy and new strategies that would improve the competitive posture of African-American owned banking and financial services businesses, as well as advance the mission of multi-generational economic strength and wealth creation in our community.”

    The number of African-American owned banks across the United States has dwindled. In 1994, 54 such banks were identified by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). At the end of 2012, there were just 28, leaving huge swaths of the African-American community without advocates and access to these traditionally “mission-based” institutions. Most, had close ties to the local churches, families and businesses, had historically served as a boon to black businesses, and offered African-Americans resources they had been previously denied.

    Named one of Ebony magazine’s “Top 30 Under 30″ in May 2010 at the age of 26, Scott was, at the time, the youngest African American hedge fund founder in history. For more about Scott, go to www.fredrickdscott.com and follow him on Twitter @fredrickdscott.

    SOURCE Fredrick D. Scott, LLC

    The post Fredrick Scott Launches Firm appeared first on peHUB.

  • Superior Capital, Plymouth Venture Back XanEdu

    Detroit-based Superior Capital Partners and Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Plymouth Venture Partners have put an undisclosed amount of capital into XanEdu Holdings, a division of NAPC Holdings. NAPC Holdings is a platform created by Superior Capital in 2009. Details of the round were not disclosed.

    PRESS RELEASE

    Superior Capital Partners, LLC, a Detroit-based private equity firm, and Plymouth Venture Partners, an Ann Arbor-based venture capital firm, announced today a joint investment in XanEdu Holdings, LLC. XanEdu is a division of NAPC Holdings, LLC, a platform that was created by Superior in 2009 to affect the acquisitions of XanEdu and NA Publishing, Inc.

    XanEdu is a leading publisher of customized course materials for the higher education market. Based in Ann Arbor, XanEdu has nearly 100 employees located in offices in Ann Arbor, MI, Louisville, KY and Acton, MA. XanEdu custom course materials are used by more than 630,000 students at 1,000 institutions. Folio-X, XanEdu’s award-winning e-learning solution, was launched in December 2010, the same year the iPad was introduced. The financing will enable XanEdu to expand the capabilities of the Folio-X platform and accelerate its growth initiatives including new publisher partnerships, content development, and custom publishing editorial services.

    “We’re excited to be partnering with Superior and the XanEdu team,” remarked Mark Horne, Plymouth’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our due diligence revealed the proven potential for XanEdu to expand its leading position in the higher education custom textbook and e-learning market. We’re confident that they have the right strategy and management team in place to continue delivering on its mission.”

    “We’re honored that Mark Horne, Ian Bund and the rest of the Plymouth team share our belief in the growth potential of XanEdu,” said Mark Carroll, Superior’s Managing Partner. “During Superior’s ownership period, the Company has transformed from a traditional provider of mostly print-based coursepacks to a provider of a wide variety of custom-developed solutions that are now delivered via the Folio-X digital platform. Plymouth provides us with an investment partner with deep experience in accomplishing aggressive growth initiatives in a technology driven market.”

    Alar Elken, CEO of XanEdu Holdings commented, “This combined investment from Plymouth and Superior provides XanEdu with the resources to accelerate the transformation of XanEdu into a dynamic e-learning company. Education is becoming more portable, more dynamic and more engaging. Students are demanding mobility, interactivity, and currency. We have the resources in place to assist instructors, students, and institutions in accessing greater choices and in providing greater flexibility in their learning materials at a lower price point than traditional solutions.”

    SOURCE Superior Capital Partners, LLC

    The post Superior Capital, Plymouth Venture Back XanEdu appeared first on peHUB.

  • KPS Capital Partners Closes $3.5B Fund

    KPS Capital Partners has closed its KPS Special Situations Fund IV with with $3.5 billion in investor capital commitments. The firm will focus on controlling investments in corporate carve-outs, turnarounds, restructurings, bankruptcies and other special situations. KPS Capital said the fund surpassed its $3 billion target.


    PRESS RELEASE
    KPS Capital Partners, LP (“KPS”), a leading private equity firm, announced today the first and final closing of KPS Special Situations Fund IV (“KPS Fund IV” or the “Fund”) was held on April 12, 2013. KPS Fund IV, with $3.5 billion in investor capital commitments, will be focused on controlling investments in corporate carve-outs, turnarounds, restructurings, bankruptcies and other special situations.

    KPS Fund IV, which had a $3.0 billion target, is the third oversubscribed institutional private equity fund raised by KPS. The fundraise was completed in under three months.

    Michael Psaros and David Shapiro, Co-Founders and Managing Partners of KPS, said “We are humbled by the demand from the global investment community for KPS Fund IV and we are very grateful for the support of a group of prestigious investors from North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

    “We believe that the demand for the Fund reflects our ability, over decades and across economic cycles, to add real value as a general partner by seeing value where other investors do not, buying right and making businesses better. We believe our success is the result of our operations focused investment strategy, the long term continuity of our partnership and the strength of our core investment team.”

    The KPS Fund IV investment team will be managed by partners Michael Psaros, David Shapiro, Raquel Palmer and Jay Bernstein, who lead a team of experienced and talented professionals.

    The investment period for KPS Fund IV will commence following the conclusion of KPS Special Situations Fund III’s investment campaign.

    Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel in the formation of KPS Fund IV.

    About KPS Capital Partners, LP

    KPS Capital Partners, LP is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of private equity funds with $6.0 billion of assets under management focused on constructive investing in restructurings, turnarounds and other special situations. The KPS investment strategy targets manufacturing and industrial companies with strong market positions that are going through a period of transition or experiencing operating or financial difficulties. For over two decades, the partners of KPS have worked with the management teams and associates of its portfolio companies to improve operating and financial performance by focusing on cost reduction, efficiency, operational excellence and strategic growth initiatives. KPS Portfolio Companies, as of December 31, 2012, have aggregate annual revenues of approximately $6.8 billion, operate 85 manufacturing plants in 25 countries, and employ over 29,000 associates, directly and through joint ventures worldwide. The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at the firm’s website: www.kpsfund.com.

    SOURCE KPS Capital Partners, LP

    The post KPS Capital Partners Closes $3.5B Fund appeared first on peHUB.

  • PowerSecure International Buys Solais Lighting

    PowerSecure International Inc., a publicly traded company, has acquired privately held Solais Lighting Inc. Solais is a Stamford Conn.-based maker of LED lamps and fixtures for commercial and industrial applications. PowerSecure paid $6.5 million in cash plus 675,160 shares of PowerSecure common stock and assumed approximately $200,000 million in negative working capital for a total transaction value of $15 million, the company announced in a press release.

    PRESS RELEASE

    PowerSecure International, Inc. (Nasdaq: POWR) today announced that it has acquired Solais Lighting, Inc., a private company based in Stamford, CT which has a proprietary portfolio of LED lamps and fixtures for commercial and industrial applications that provide superior light output, thermal management, optics, light quality and aesthetics.

    The acquisition strengthens and complements PowerSecure’s existing LED business with additional product lines and an expanded customer base, and adds strong skill sets around product design, product commercialization, manufacturing and materials sourcing.

    PowerSecure paid the stockholders of Solais $6.5 million in cash plus 675,160 shares of PowerSecure common stock and assumed approximately $0.2 million in negative working capital for a total transaction value of $15 million. The PowerSecure shares were valued at their volume-weighted average closing sale price (VWAP) as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market over the five business days immediately preceding the closing date of April 12, 2013, or $12.22 per share. All outstanding shares of capital stock of Solais were exchanged for the merger consideration.

    “The expertise Solais has demonstrated in developing best-in-class innovative technology in parallel with some of the most effective sourcing, procurement and manufacturing in the industry will provide us with catalysts to accelerate the growth and profitability of our LED lighting business,” said Sidney Hinton, chief executive officer of PowerSecure.

    “James and the accomplished Solais leadership team bring additional strength to PowerSecure and experience with distributor channel relationships that add to our new ESCO product channel and broaden our product offerings to our direct customers and utility partners,” Hinton added.

    PowerSecure expects the transaction to be slightly accretive to revenues and earnings in 2013 (subject to finalization of accounting related to the amortization of intangible assets) and meaningfully accretive in subsequent years.

    “There is tremendous synergy between our companies. With this merger, we combine the breadth, strength, innovation and success of PowerSecure with the business of Solais to accelerate our growth in the marketplace and better serve our clients. In addition, we can apply our efficient manufacturing expertise and proprietary technologies to enhance the value of PowerSecure’s overall LED lighting portfolio,” said James Leahy, chief executive officer of Solais.

    Conference Call

    PowerSecure International, Inc. (Nasdaq: POWR) will host a conference call on Monday, April 15, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss the company’s acquisition of Solais Lighting, Inc.

    To access the live webcast, please log on to the investor section of the company’s website at http://www.powersecure.com.

    Analysts and institutional investors can also access the call by dialing 888-679-8018 (or 617-213-4845 if dialing internationally) and providing passcode 38138943. If you are unable to participate during the live webcast, a replay of the conference call will be available approximately two hours after the completion of the call through midnight on April 29, 2013. To listen to the replay, dial 888-286-8010 (or 617-801-6888 if dialing internationally), and enter passcode 23703878. In addition, the webcast will be archived on the company’s website at www.powersecure.com.

    About PowerSecure

    PowerSecure International, Inc. is a leading provider of utility and energy technologies to electric utilities, and their industrial, institutional and commercial customers. PowerSecure provides products and services in the areas of Interactive Distributed Generation ® (IDG®), energy efficiency and utility infrastructure. The company is a pioneer in developing IDG® power systems with sophisticated smart grid capabilities, including the ability to 1) forecast electricity demand and electronically deploy the systems to deliver more efficient, and environmentally friendly, power at peak power times, 2) provide utilities with dedicated electric power generation capacity to utilize for demand response purposes and 3) provide customers with the most dependable standby power in the industry. Its proprietary distributed generation system designs utilize a range of technologies to deliver power, including renewables. The company’s energy efficiency business develops energy efficient lighting technologies that improve the quality of light, including its proprietary EfficientLights® LED lighting products for grocery, drug and convenience stores, and its SecureLite area light and PowerLite street lights for utilities and municipalities. PowerSecure also provides electric utilities with transmission and distribution infrastructure maintenance and construction services, and engineering and regulatory consulting services. Additional information is available at www.powersecure.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than statements of historical facts, including but not limited to statements relating to the projected success of the Solais business and the projected financial results of the acquired Solais business and the effect of the acquisition on the financial results of the company, the outlook for the company’s future revenues, earnings, margins, cash resources and cash flow and other financial and operating information and data; the company’s future business operations, strategies and prospects; the anticipated benefits and future results of the reported transaction; and all other statements concerning the plans, intentions, expectations, projections, hopes, beliefs, objectives, goals and strategies of management, including statements about other future financial and non-financial items, performance or events and about present and future products, services, technologies and businesses and the reported transaction; and statements of assumptions underlying the foregoing.

    Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed, projected or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, those risks, uncertainties and other factors identified from time to time in the company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as in subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the results expressed, projected or implied by any forward-looking statements will be achieved, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and are based on the current plans, goals, objectives, strategies, intentions, expectations and assumptions of, and the information currently available to, management. The company assumes no duty or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as the result of changes in expectations, new information, future events, conditions or circumstances or otherwise.

    The post PowerSecure International Buys Solais Lighting appeared first on peHUB.

  • Envysion Names Michelle Shewchuk CFO

    Envysion Inc., a provider of managed video as a service, has named Michelle Shewchuk as its chief financial officer. She joins from Exclusive Resorts, a private equity-backed company. Earlier in her career, Shewchuk worked at Boston’s Berkshire Partners.

    PRESS RELEASE
    Envysion®, Inc., (www.envysion.com) the leading Managed Video as a Service (MVaaS) provider, today announced the appointment of Michelle Shewchuk as Chief Financial Officer. With this addition Envysion gains critical strategic and financial leadership and capital market expertise to support its aggressive expansion plans.

    “We’re excited to bring aboard someone with Michelle’s depth of experience,” said Matt Steinfort, President and CEO of Envysion. “Michelle’s private equity experience and strong track record of managing and optimizing the capital structure for emerging growth companies will be critical to helping us make our vision for the company a reality.”

    Shewchuk brings over 20 years of financial leadership experience to Envysion and comes from Exclusive Resorts, a private equity backed company, where she was critical to driving revenue and operational growth and helped manage a $250 million dollar credit facility. In addition, Shewchuk spent part of her early career working at Berkshire Partners, a leading private equity firm in Boston, MA.

    In her role as CFO, Shewchuk will be responsible for all finance functions at Envysion, including debt and equity funding and strategic financial planning and analysis, as well as general accounting for the company.

    “Envysion’s client portfolio is tremendous and I’m excited to join Envysion at this critical time in the company’s growth trajectory,” said Michelle Shewchuk. “I look forward to helping to further accelerate the company’s already exceptional growth.”

    About Envysion Envysion puts the power of video into the hands of a multi-unit operator’s entire organization, enabling users to easily leverage remote video to gain actionable business insights that will improve operations and deliver demonstrated 10-15% profitability improvements. The company created the Managed Video as a Service (MVaaS) model, which brings the Software as a Service (SaaS) approach to video. Envysion’s highly scalable and easy to manage MVaaS platform reaches across departments to 1000s of users without straining the IT department or network. Through Envysion’s Insight Marketplace, the innovative business solutions marketplace that leverages managed video, customers can select from a variety of approved partners who deliver specialized services. Today, Envysion’s solutions are driving bottom line profitability improvements with leading restaurant, retail, hospitality and convenience store operators throughout North America. For more information, visit www.envysion.com or call 877.258.9441.

    SOURCE Envysion, Inc.

    The post Envysion Names Michelle Shewchuk CFO appeared first on peHUB.

  • TSI Semiconductors Adds Three

    TSI Semiconductors has named three new executives: Roger Lee is now chief operating officer; David Bridgeford is chief financial officer; and John Doricko is vice president of Sales and Marketing and president of the company’s research and development subsidiary. In addition, the company announced that Michael Gontar, of Wafra Capital Partners Inc., will serve as its chairman.

    PRESS RELEASE

    TSI Semiconductors, LLC, a world-class specialty foundry offering flexible technology development and manufacturing services, today announced the appointment of three new executives: Roger Lee as chief operating officer, David Bridgeford as chief financial officer and John Doricko as TSI’s vice president of Sales and Marketing and president of the company’s research and development subsidiary, Technology Development & Commercialization Services (TDCS).

    In addition, the company announced that Michael Gontar of Wafra Capital Partners Inc. will serve as its chairman.”I am excited to work with such an exceptional team to advance TSI and position it for success in delivering world-class foundry and technology services in direct partnership with our customers. Each of our executives brings expertise and industry experience that will prove vital in helping us reach our goals,” said Sagar Pushpala, who was announced today as TSI’s new CEO. “Roger is well-suited to serve as COO, having been involved with TSI’s American manufacturing operations and serving as the company’s interim CEO, as well as co-founding and managing large Asian factories. David has an impressive financial management background, having worked with companies of all sizes, and in the manufacturing realm. And, John comes to TSI with an extensive sales and marketing background in both technology and equipment, from early development through manufacturing.”TSI’s New Executive TeamRoger Lee, COO, began working in the semiconductor industry more than 26 years ago, as an engineer for Texas Instruments. During his career, Lee has been awarded more than 150 U.S. patents and served on numerous boards. He has held a variety of executive and senior-level positions for several companies, including senior vice president of SMIC, which went public and became the third-largest foundry in the world. Previously, he co-founded the SMIC-Toppan JV (TSES) and held several management positions, including senior fellow, within Micron Technology. More recently, he was COO and served as a board member of Founder Microelectronics, Inc. in Shenzhen, China, where he was responsible for overall company operations, including fab manufacturing, sales and marketing, procurement, facilities and R&D operations.David Bridgeford, CFO, has more than 35 years of diverse financial management experience, in both private and public companies. Prior to joining TSI Semiconductors, he served as CFO at Acclaim Communications, Inc., Jadoo Power Systems, Inc., BHP Steel Building Products and Steele Resources Corp. Earlier in his career, Bridgeford held senior financial management positions with Level One Communications and Western Plastics Corp.John Doricko, TSI vice president of Sales and Marketing and president of TDCS, brings almost 25 years of experience in a variety of executive and senior leadership roles devoted to sales, marketing, business development and field operations. He has worked with a range of customers — including Intel, Samsung, TSMC and others — to bring advanced lithography, films, etch and other technologies from development to volume manufacturing. Doricko also has helped semiconductor customers find creative approaches to enabling their business objectives through his work in consulting and financing/asset management.Michael Gontar to Serve as Chairman
    Serving as chairman at TSI is Michael Gontar, who is also chief investment officer and a director at Wafra Capital Partners Inc., a SEC-registered investment advisor with more than $3.5 billion in assets under management. In addition to his role at Wafra, Gontar serves on numerous boards, including TriplePoint Capital, LLC, Reliant Asset Management, LLC and Somerset Capital Group. Prior to joining Wafra, he worked in the Transaction Services group of international accounting firm KPMG LLP, specializing in private equity due diligence and financial transactions.Gontar also is the co-founder and principal of a real estate investment firm focused on low-income residential properties in the New York region, and was the vice president and co-founder of a nationwide wholesale company and serves on its board of directors.About TSI Semiconductors, LLC
    TSI Semiconductors, LLC is a world-class, specialty foundry offering flexible technology development and the highest industry quality manufacturing solutions for projects ranging from the smallest to very large lot sizes. With its 8-inch fabrication plant in Roseville, Calif., and 6-inch fabrication facility in Heilbronn, Germany, TSI can manufacture in a large array of versatile processes that include analog/mixed-signal, deep-submicron, high-voltage BCDMOS, including SOI for power management applications, and solutions such as novel materials structures and devices. Technology Development & Commercialization Services (TDCS), TSI’s research and development organization, provides dedicated fab equipment to enable customers to manage their own development activities. For more information, visit www.tsisemi.com.SOURCE TSI Semiconductors, LLC

    The post TSI Semiconductors Adds Three appeared first on peHUB.

  • Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Sells Subsidiaries

    Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. is selling its Interventional Products Business subsidiaries to Argon Medical Devices, the company announced. Argon Medical Devices is a portfolio company of RoundTable Healthcare Partners. Plano, Texas-based Argon, which makes specialty medical products, is paying $362.5 million in cash, and the deal is expected to close in April.

    PRESS RELEASE
    Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Angiotech”) announced today that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell certain of its subsidiaries, comprising Angiotech’s Interventional Products Business, to Argon Medical Devices, Inc. (“Argon”), a portfolio company of RoundTable Healthcare Partners, for $362.5 million in cash consideration. Angiotech expects the transaction will close prior to the end of April 2013.

    “This important transaction will enable Angiotech to retire all of its remaining debt obligations, and in addition will provide excess cash proceeds, which we plan to use to provide an immediate return to our shareholders and to invest in our remaining businesses,” said Thomas Bailey , President and CEO of Angiotech. “This event represents a culmination of turnaround efforts we initiated upon concluding our 2011 restructuring, and is a direct result of the exceptional and improved business results our teams were able to achieve in 2012. We would like to offer our admiration and sincere thanks to the dedicated management and employees of our Interventional Products Business for their resilience through many changes, teamwork and achievements.”

    “We are excited to turn our efforts to investing in and executing opportunities in our Surgical Products business, where we still see much untapped opportunity for our proprietary Quill product line, our Look and Sharpoint general wound closure products, and our ophthalmic products,” said Tammy Neske , Chief Business Officer of Angiotech. “In addition, we have retained our recently FDA approved BioSentry (Bio-Seal) product line as part of this transaction, and we will continue to explore commercial and development opportunities for BioSentry while initiating U.S. commercial activities and making it available for customers.”

    Highlights and selected terms of the transaction include:

    The businesses being acquired by Argon include all manufacturing, commercial and administrative operations relating to Angiotech’s Interventional Products Business. Key product lines in this business include Angiotech’s BioPince™ full core biopsy devices, Tru-Core™ II (fully automatic) and SuperCore™ (semi-automatic) disposable biopsy instruments, T-Lok™ bone marrow biopsy devices, and Skater™ drainage catheters, among other products. Angiotech’s Interventional Products Business also manufactures components for other third party medical device manufacturers, operates manufacturing facilities in Wheeling, IL, Gainesville, FL and Stenlose, Denmark and employs a direct sales and marketing organization in the U.S. and Europe. Angiotech’s Interventional Products Businesses recorded $101.6 million in revenue in the 12 month period ended December 31, 2012.

    Consideration for the transaction will total $362.5 million in cash, subject to a potential working capital adjustment, with $347.5 million to be received upon the close of the transaction, and $15 million to be retained in escrow for a period of 12 months to secure indemnification obligations relating to the transaction.

    Angiotech expects to use the proceeds received from the transaction to repay all of its remaining outstanding debt obligations, including remaining amounts due under its Senior Floating Rate Notes due December 2013 and the Senior Notes due December 2016. Angiotech also expects to terminate its revolving credit facility with Wells Fargo Capital Finance upon the close of the transaction.

    The transaction is subject to approval of Angiotech shareholders. Shareholders representing approximately 70% of Angiotech’s outstanding shares have signed voting agreements in connection with the transaction, and have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the proposed transaction.

    The transaction is conditioned on, among other things, expiration of applicable waiting periods under the U.S. Hart Scott Rodino Act.

    Angiotech expects to make a cash distribution, in the form of a return of capital, to shareholders in an amount to be determined shortly after the close of the transaction, and subsequent to the repayment of Angiotech’s debt obligations, final payment of all transaction related fees and expenses, and final determination by management and the Board of Directors as to the operating cash needs of Angiotech’s remaining businesses.

    Upon the conclusion of the transaction, Angiotech will retain its Surgical Products Business and its Royalty Business. Revenue recorded by Angiotech in the twelve months ended December 31, 2012 from these businesses was $123.1 million and $15.1 million respectively. Key product lines in Angiotech’s Surgical Products business include wound closure products such as the Quill™ knotless tissue closure device, Look™ brand sutures for general and dental surgery and Sharpoint™ UltraGlide and Microsurgical sutures, and ophthalmic products such as the Sharpoint™ brand ophthalmic surgical blades. Angiotech’s Surgical Products Business also manufactures components for other third party medical device manufacturers, and operates manufacturing facilities in Reading, PA, Aguadilla, PR and Taunton, England. Angiotech’s Surgical Products Business also employs a specialized direct sales and marketing team, with dedicated groups focused on its wound closure, ophthalmology and medical components product lines respectively.

    Angiotech’s Royalty Business comprises a portfolio of intellectual property relating to a variety of biomaterial, drug and medical device related technologies and technology applications. The most significant intellectual property in this portfolio is related to the use of the drug paclitaxel in treating certain conditions, including certain side effects that may occur coincident with the implantation of medical devices. Angiotech has licensed this aspect of its intellectual property portfolio to its partners Boston Scientific Corporation (“BSC”) and Cook Medical, Inc. (“Cook”) for application in drug-eluting stents used to treat coronary and peripheral artery disease. Virtually all of Angiotech’s Royalty Business revenue in 2012 was derived from royalties received from BSC and Cook.

    Angiotech will also retain all intellectual property, rights, assets and inventory related to its BioSentry™ (formerly Bio-Seal) product line, which was recently approved for sale in the U.S. by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). Coincident with the transaction, Angiotech concluded a three year Manufacturing and Supply Agreement with Argon with respect to BioSentry. Argon will not, as part of this agreement, have commercialization rights to BioSentry. U.S. commercial launch activities for this product line will continue, and customers may inquire or place orders for BioSentry through Angiotech’s existing customer service line.

    Lastly, Angiotech will retain real property assets located in Stenlose, Denmark as part of the transaction, and will retain net proceeds generated upon any sale of such real property assets subsequent to Angiotech and Argon concluding Angiotech’s previously announced transfer of production activities from Stenlose to facilities located in the U.S. Such transfer is currently expected to conclude during the first half of 2013.

    Upon the close of the transaction, Angiotech will cease to be a voluntary reporting public issuer, and will therefore no longer file financial or other information with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Angiotech expects to continue to provide certain financial information, including audited annual financial information and selected interim quarterly financial information, via a private portal accessible to shareholders of record. Further information will be forthcoming upon the close of the transaction. Angiotech plans to file its 2012 annual report on form 10-K in ordinary course at or around March 31, 2013. Angiotech will also postpone its upcoming investor call, currently scheduled for April 2, 2013, to a later date subsequent to the close of the transaction, at which point Angiotech plans to conduct a conference call, accessible to shareholders of record, to discuss its future plans for its remaining businesses.

    Angiotech’s financial advisors respecting the transaction were Moelis & Company and Houlihan Lokey . Angiotech was represented by its legal counsel, Irell & Manella LLP in the transaction, and was represented by Stikeman Elliott LLP on Canadian legal matters.

    Forward Looking Statements

    Statements contained in this press release that are not based on historical fact, including without limitation statements containing the words “believes,” “may,” “plans,” “will,” “estimates,” “continues,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “expects” and similar expressions, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All such statements are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements may involve, but are not limited to, comments with respect to our objectives and priorities in 2013 and beyond, our strategies or future actions, our targets, expectations for our financial condition and the results of, or outlook for, our operations, research and development and product development. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Many such known risks, uncertainties and other factors are taken into account as part of our assumptions underlying these forward-looking statements and include, among others, the following: general economic and business conditions in the United States, Canada and the other regions in which we operate; market demand; competition; technological changes that could impact our existing products or our ability to develop and commercialize future products; governmental legislation and regulations and changes in, or the failure to comply with, governmental legislation and regulations; availability of financial reimbursement coverage from governmental and third-party payers for products and related treatments; adverse results or unexpected delays in pre-clinical and clinical product development processes; adverse findings related to the safety and/or efficacy of our products or products sold by our partners; decisions, and the timing of decisions, made by health regulatory agencies regarding approval of our technology and products; the requirement for funding to conduct research and development, to expand manufacturing and commercialization activities; and any other factors that may affect our performance. In addition, our business is subject to certain operating risks that may cause any results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release to differ materially from our actual results. These operating risks include: our ability to successfully manufacture, market and sell our products; changes in our business strategy or development plans; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; our ability to successfully complete pre-clinical and clinical development of our products; our failure to obtain patent protection for discoveries; loss of patent protection resulting from third-party challenges to our patents; commercialization limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; our ability to obtain rights to technology from licensors; liability for patent claims and other claims asserted against us; our ability to obtain and enforce timely patent and other intellectual property protection for our technology and products; the ability to enter into, and to maintain, corporate alliances relating to the development and commercialization of our technology and products; market acceptance of our technology and products; the availability of capital to finance our activities; our ability to service our debt obligations; and any other factors referenced in our other filings with the SEC. For a more thorough discussion of the risks associated with our business, see the “Risk Factors” section in our annual report for the year ended December 31, 2012 to be filed with the SEC on Form 10K no later than April 1, 2013.

    About Angiotech

    Angiotech develops, manufactures and markets medical device products and technologies, primarily within the areas of interventional oncology, wound closure and ophthalmology. Our strategy is to utilize our precision manufacturing capabilities and our highly targeted sales and marketing capabilities to offer novel or differentiated medical device products to patients, physicians and other medical device manufacturers or distributors. For additional information about Angiotech, please visit our website at www.angiotech.com.

    About Argon Medical Devices

    Argon Medical is a global manufacturer of specialty medical products headquartered in Plano, Texas. Argon offers a broad line of medical devices for interventional radiology, vascular surgery, interventional cardiology and critical care procedures. Argon’s newest products include the Option™ Inferior Vena Cava Filter, Cleaner Rotational Thrombectomy System, and UltraStream™ Chronic Dialysis Catheter. Argon also offers complete lines of PICC and midline catheters, endomyocardial biopsy forceps, introducer sheaths, pressure transducers and other vascular products. Argon’s products are sold globally through a combination of direct sales representatives and premier distributors.

    About RoundTable Healthcare Partners

    RoundTable Healthcare Partners, based in Lake Forest, IL, is an operating oriented private equity firm focused exclusively on the health care industry. The partners of RoundTable have significant experience in managing, acquiring and financing multi-billion dollar diversified health care companies.

    The post Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Sells Subsidiaries appeared first on peHUB.

  • IceWEB Restructures Debt with Sand Hill Finance

    IceWEB Inc., a provider of storage appliances for cloud and virtual environments, has restructured its debt in a deal with Sand Hill Finance. IceWEB is based near Washington, D.C. The company is traded on the over-the-counter Bulletin Board.

    PRESS RELEASE

    IceWEB, Inc.™ (OTCBB: IWEB), a leading provider of Unified Data Storage appliances for cloud and virtual environments, today announced that on April 12, 2013 the Company entered into an agreement with Sand Hill Finance, LLC to amend their existing Financing Agreement by issuing a convertible debenture to replace IceWEB’s existing note payable, in the amount of $2,139,235. The debenture is convertible into common stock at a fixed price of $0.075 per share, bears interest at 12% annually, and has a two year term. In addition, the terms of the note call for monthly payments of $15,000, which increases to $25,000 in the event that IceWEB raises $3,000,000 or more in an equity financing.

    “We are pleased to have been able to reach such a positive arrangement with IceWEB, particularly as we believe the company is so undervalued. We’re very excited about their strategy and their future prospects”

    “Sand Hill Finance has demonstrated their faith in IceWEB’s future success by restructuring our debt in a way that allows us to no longer be in default under our financing agreement, improves our cash flow, and gives us the flexibility to successfully complete our pending merger between IceWEB and Computers and Tele-Comm, Inc.,” said IceWEB CFO, Mark Lucky.

    “We are pleased to have been able to reach such a positive arrangement with IceWEB, particularly as we believe the company is so undervalued. We’re very excited about their strategy and their future prospects,” said Mark Cameron, Sr. VP of Sandhill Finance.

    About IceWEB, Inc.

    Headquartered just outside of Washington, D.C., IceWEB manufactures award-winning, high performance unified data storage appliances with enterprise storage management capabilities at a fraction of the price of traditional providers. Through thin provisioning, target deduplication and inline compression, IceWEB’s unified storage arrays enable standardization, consolidation and optimized storage utilization for virtual and cloud environments, saving up to 90% of storage costs, while reducing space, power and cooling requirements and simplifying storage management. For more information please call 800-465-4637 or visit www.IceWEB.com. To become part of the Company’s e-mail list for industry updates and press releases, please send an e-mail to [email protected].

    This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases you can identify those so-called “forward-looking statements” by words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “targets,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” or “continue” or the negative of those words and other comparable words. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, product tests, commercialization risks, availability of financing and results of financing efforts that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated. Further information regarding these and other risks is described from time to time in the Company’s filings with the SEC, which are available on its website at: http://www.sec.gov. We assume no obligation to update or alter our forward-looking statements made in this release or in any periodic report filed by us under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any other document, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by applicable federal securities laws.

    The post IceWEB Restructures Debt with Sand Hill Finance appeared first on peHUB.

  • Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures Backs Sekal

    Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, the venture arm of Saudi Aramco, has put an undisclosed amount of money into Sekal AS, a provider of support and automation software for the oil and gas industry. Details of the financing were not disclosed. Sekal is based in Sandnes, Norway, with offices in Aberdeen and Houston. Other owners in the company include IRIS, Statoil Technology Invest, and SåkorninVest.

    PRESS RELEASE
    Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures LLC (“SAEV”), the corporate venturing subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, today announced the closing of an investment into Sekal AS, a company that offers real time decision support and automation software, together with related consultancy and support services to the oil and gas industry.

    The company is commercializing two software solutions, DrillScene and DrillTronics, used in drilling operations where rigs have real time data streaming capabilities. DrillScene is a self‐calibrating system that provides real‐time early warnings of impending problems in drilling operations. The driller can respond quicker to take corrective actions, reducing down‐time and improving performance. DrillTronics provides added automation and safeguard features to existing drilling control systems and actively controls key elements of the operation, such as draw‐work, top‐drive and mud pumps.

    CEO of SAEV, Ibrahim Buainain said: “We are delighted to announce SAEV’s latest investment. We believe Sekal’s technology is truly superior to competing alternatives in the market, and will have a significant impact in increasing efficiency, reducing downtime and reducing costs in Saudi Aramco’s drilling operations.”

    About Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures ‐ Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures LLC (SAEV) is the corporate venturing subsidiary of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), the world’s leading integrated energy company. Headquartered in Dhahran with operations in North America and Europe, SAEV’s mission is to invest globally in start‐ups and high growth companies with technologies of strategic importance to its parent, Saudi Aramco.

    For more information about SAEV, please visit www.aramcoventures.com

    About Sekal – Sekal supplies solutions that employ real time data from a rig to perform advanced monitoring and automated drilling by utilizing advanced models. The solutions provide value by early detection of downhole condition deterioration, either as a monitoring service or as a fully integrated solution with the drilling control system. The result is a safer and more efficient drilling process. The company was incorporated in 2011 with headquarters in Sandnes, Norway, and offices in Aberdeen and Houston. The main owners are IRIS, Statoil Technology Invest, SåkorninVest and now Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures.

    The post Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures Backs Sekal appeared first on peHUB.

  • Marathon Capital Adds Tim Meyer

    Chicago-based Marathon Capital has added Tim Meyer as a managing director. He will focus on for expanding the firm’s investor contacts and private placement capabilities across the pension, endowment, foundation and institutional debt and private equity channels, the firm said in a statement. Meyer has worked previously in various roles at firms including Duff & Phelps, CRT Capital, and BMO Capital Markets.

    PRESS RELEASE
    Marathon Capital welcomes Tim Meyer, Managing Director, to its Bannockburn office. Meyer will report to Gregg Elesh, Chief Investment Officer, and is responsible for expanding Marathon Capital’s investor contacts and private placement capabilities across the pension, endowment, foundation and institutional debt and private equity channels.

    Meyer has over 20 years of private placement experience with companies including Duff & Phelps, CRT Capital, BMO Capital Markets, ING Barings and SPP Hambro & Company. Meyer’s cumulative experience includes over 125 completed transactions representing the full spectrum of available corporate equity and debt structures.

    “Tim’s decades of pertinent experience in private placement and private capital raising will make him a superb resource both to Marathon Capital and its clients,” says Gregg Elesh, Chief Investment Officer of Marathon Capital.

    Marathon Capital is a leading financial advisory and investment banking firm focused on providing financial advice in the areas of M&A, capital raising of debt and equity, project finance, tax equity, financial restructuring, recapitalization, bankruptcy and workout situations in the energy sector. Marathon Capital is one of the most active advisors in the North American Power and Infrastructure market with deep expertise in the renewable energy segment.

    The post Marathon Capital Adds Tim Meyer appeared first on peHUB.

  • PrePlay Seals $4.7M Series B

    PrePlay Inc. has raised $4.7 million in Series B financing. Lead investor Trilogy Equity Partners was joined by RSE Ventures in the round. PrePlay is a New York based mobile games company.

    PRESS RELEASE

    On the heels of PrePlay, Inc.’s
    (www.preplaysports.com) Opening Day re-launch of MLB PrePlay v2.0 for iOS and
    Android, the company is announcing the closing of a $4.7M Series B Financing.
    Lead investor Trilogy Equity Partners, LLC was joined by RSE Ventures, the
    venture capital fund founded by Miami Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross and Matt
    Higgins.

    PrePlay is a New York based mobile games company that has found early success
    among sports fans and gamers with its baseball, hockey, and football titles. The
    company also has coveted commercial partnerships with Major League Baseball
    Advanced Media and the National Hockey League.

    PrePlay’s core competency is creating apps that enable fans to do what they
    already do – make and share simple predictions for every play of every game
    they watch. Add the right mixture of game mechanics and social hooks, and you’ve
    got a winning suite of evergreen game titles. Through cross-marketing and
    PrePlay credentials supported platform-wide, the games are able to support and
    reinforce each other as a network in spite of the seasonality of sports.

    The company measures its success based on how many predictions fans make each
    day on the platform. On Baseball’s Opening Day (April 1st), users made over
    200,000 play-by-play predictions on the platform, doubling the company’s
    single-day record to that point.

    PrePlay CEO Andrew Daines – recently named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 – says,
    “We think the whole social TV, second-screen business is upside down. It’s
    currently dominated by generic one-size-fits-all check-in apps and by TV
    programmers who want you to watch their shows, but have no feeling for games, no
    feeling for great mobile product. We fit into the category of ‘second-screen’,
    but we’re tackling the problem of engagement from a mobile-first, gaming
    perspective. We care deeply about creating rich, high-quality game experiences,
    and believe TV tune-in and engagement with content and brands flow naturally
    from there.”

    The company will use the new funds to grow its Ruby on Rails and native iOS and
    Android teams in an effort to add more sports and grow its advertising, in-app
    purchase, and platform licensing businesses.

    Methuselah Advisors acted as Financial Advisor and Sheppard Mullin Richter &
    Hampton represented the company in the transaction.

    QUICK FACT SHEET

    * Founded in 2010 by undergraduate student at Cornell
    * Announced its’ 100,000th registered user yesterday
    * Now receiving 1 Million fan predictions on the platform per week
    * 30,000 social media messages + chats made per day
    * 8 million predictions made on the platform all-time
    * Grown from 12 to 20 employees in past 6 months
    * Commercial partner of MLBAM and NHL
    * Offices in NYC & Paris, France
    * Top 25 on Apple App Store Sports, Top 25 on Google Play Sports
    * Industry-leading average engagement of 50 minutes per user session

    TRILOGY EQUITY PARTNERS, LLC

    Established by a team of Seattle wireless and technology entrepreneurs,
    including John Stanton, Trilogy Equity Partners, LLC invests private capital in
    areas where in-house expertise and market growth promise superior financial
    returns. The firm’s partners have long been at the center of the global wireless
    revolution as founders of Voicestream (T-Mobile) and Western Wireless in
    addition to previously holding pivotal roles at McCaw Cellular (AT&T).

    RSE VENTURES

    Stephen M. Ross and Matt Higgins co-founded RSE Ventures in 2012. The firm
    builds and invests directly in companies specializing in audience engagement,
    combining in-venue content, curated events, and strategic partnerships to build
    the best possible fan experience.

    The post PrePlay Seals $4.7M Series B appeared first on peHUB.