Investment in Skinkers
Spark Ventures PLC
30 October 2007
For Immediate Release 30 October 2007
SPARK Ventures plc
SPARK Ventures and Acacia Capital Partners invest in Skinkers USD16m funding
30 October 2007: SPARK Ventures plc ('SPARK'), the leading quoted early-stage
venture capital company formerly known as NewMedia SPARK, has today announced
that SPARK and its managed funds have invested in a USD16m second round fund
raising by Skinkers, the market leaders in Information Broadcast technology.
SPARK, an existing investor in Skinkers since 2005, has participated alongside
new investors, Acacia Capital Partners, who led the investment, and the
Skinkers' management team. Skinkers will use the funding to further develop its
enterprise-wide communication platform business, enhance its Live Notification
PlatformTM technology and bring to market LiveStation, the world's first
interactive global broadcast network for live television and radio.
Jay Patel, Executive Director at SPARK, commented: 'As well as capital, Acacia
brings significant additional experience to the Skinkers team which complements
our contribution to the business over the past 2 years. The additional funds
will allow Skinkers to accelerate the process of establishing its products as a
critical component of enterprise communications, as well as enabling the company
to maintain momentum in the global roll-out of LiveStation. The company has
demonstrated impressive progress to date and we look forward to our continuing
role in its future success.'
Hitesh Mehta, General Partner at Acacia Capital Partners, added: 'We are
delighted to be part of the Skinkers story; we believe their innovative approach
to the delivery of priority information gives them a unique position in the
market. This financing will enable the experienced management team at Skinkers
to exploit the market potential for its technology and build a world-class
business.'
Skinkers Information Broadcast technology ensures that ShouldKnowTM information
is delivered to customers, partners and employees with visibility and impact.
ShouldKnow information is defined as priority information that people need to
know such as breaking news, corporate announcements and service outages.
Recipients can select the type of ShouldKnow information they would like to
receive on their chosen device (PC, handheld or mobile phone). Some of the
world's leading brands rely on Skinkers technology to engage more effectively
with their target audiences; these include American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic,
UPS, JC Penney, The BBC, CNN and The Guardian.
'Communication overload is now a recognised business problem,' states Matteo
Berlucchi, Skinkers' CEO, 'Our technology combats this issue by enabling people
to choose how the ShouldKnow information they are interested in is 'pushed' to
them in a highly flexible and visible way. Acacia, like SPARK did two years ago,
has recognised our unique market opportunity and their investment is a strong
endorsement of our technology and of our ability to exploit that global
opportunity.'
In April 2007, Skinkers announced the launch of LiveStation, the first
interactive global broadcast platform over IP which provides the most scalable
and cost effective solution for broadcasting live and linear TV channels over
the Internet directly to millions of computer screens. Built on unique
technology acquired from Microsoft in a pioneering 'technology for equity' deal
in 2006, LiveStation is shortly due to launch a large-scale technical trial
involving leading global broadcasters.
SPARK Ventures this week announced its name change from NewMedia SPARK. The aim
of the name change is to better reflect the current and future direction of the
business following the acquisition of Quester earlier this year, which will see
it investing in a more diverse range of sectors including technology, digital
media and life sciences.
The Spark Ventures managed funds that have a stake in Skinkers are SPARK
Ventures plc, Quester VCT plc and Quester VCT 5 plc.
Ends
Media contact:
SPARK Ventures, Jay Patel, Tel: 020 7851 7777
About SPARK Ventures
SPARK Ventures is the leading quoted early-stage venture capital company in Europe.
It manages £240 million on behalf of major institutional investors, leading UK
universities, and three quoted venture capital trusts.
SPARK invests in entrepreneurs to create dynamic businesses in the technology,
media, telecoms and healthcare & life sciences sectors. As well as capital, it
brings a wealth of experience of developing high growth companies from early
stage through to IPO or trade sale, adding value to its investments through
active support and strategic direction.
SPARK's focus is on building great companies from small beginnings: its experience
blends ambition with the strategic, financial and commercial skills that enable
it to maximise returns, both for investors and for portfolio companies.
Some of our exits include Mergermarket, Lastminute.com, Footfall, Pricerunner, Elata,
lycart, OHM and Avidex.
www.SPARKventures.com
About Acacia Capital Partners
Acacia Capital Partners is an independent management company made up of
experienced venture capitalists with in-depth operational and investment
management experience. They invest in later stage innovative technology
companies both directly and indirectly.
About Skinkers
Skinkers is a privately funded technology company headquartered in London with
offices in Milan, New York and Sydney. Established in 2001, their expansion has
been rapid. Many of the world's leading brands use Skinkers technology. Skinkers
received corporate financial advice from GP Bullhound for this investment round.
www.skinkers.com / www.livestation.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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