30th Oct 2007 16:32
Spark Ventures PLC30 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-stageventure capital company formerly known as NewMedia SPARK, has today announcedthat SPARK and its managed funds have invested in a USD16m second round fundraising by Skinkers, the market leaders in Information Broadcast technology.SPARK, an existing investor in Skinkers since 2005, has participated alongsidenew investors, Acacia Capital Partners, who led the investment, and theSkinkers' management team. Skinkers will use the funding to further develop itsenterprise-wide communication platform business, enhance its Live NotificationPlatformTM technology and bring to market LiveStation, the world's firstinteractive global broadcast network for live television and radio. Jay Patel, Executive Director at SPARK, commented: "As well as capital, Acaciabrings significant additional experience to the Skinkers team which complementsour contribution to the business over the past 2 years. The additional fundswill allow Skinkers to accelerate the process of establishing its products as acritical component of enterprise communications, as well as enabling the companyto maintain momentum in the global roll-out of LiveStation. The company hasdemonstrated impressive progress to date and we look forward to our continuingrole in its future success." Hitesh Mehta, General Partner at Acacia Capital Partners, added: "We aredelighted to be part of the Skinkers story; we believe their innovative approachto the delivery of priority information gives them a unique position in themarket. This financing will enable the experienced management team at Skinkersto exploit the market potential for its technology and build a world-classbusiness." Skinkers Information Broadcast technology ensures that ShouldKnowTM informationis delivered to customers, partners and employees with visibility and impact.ShouldKnow information is defined as priority information that people need toknow such as breaking news, corporate announcements and service outages.Recipients can select the type of ShouldKnow information they would like toreceive on their chosen device (PC, handheld or mobile phone). Some of theworld's leading brands rely on Skinkers technology to engage more effectivelywith 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 MatteoBerlucchi, Skinkers' CEO, "Our technology combats this issue by enabling peopleto choose how the ShouldKnow information they are interested in is 'pushed' tothem 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 strongendorsement of our technology and of our ability to exploit that globalopportunity." In April 2007, Skinkers announced the launch of LiveStation, the firstinteractive global broadcast platform over IP which provides the most scalableand cost effective solution for broadcasting live and linear TV channels overthe Internet directly to millions of computer screens. Built on uniquetechnology acquired from Microsoft in a pioneering 'technology for equity' dealin 2006, LiveStation is shortly due to launch a large-scale technical trialinvolving leading global broadcasters. SPARK Ventures this week announced its name change from NewMedia SPARK. The aimof the name change is to better reflect the current and future direction of thebusiness following the acquisition of Quester earlier this year, which will seeit investing in a more diverse range of sectors including technology, digitalmedia and life sciences. The Spark Ventures managed funds that have a stake in Skinkers are SPARKVentures 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 PartnersAcacia Capital Partners is an independent management company made up ofexperienced venture capitalists with in-depth operational and investmentmanagement experience. They invest in later stage innovative technologycompanies both directly and indirectly. About SkinkersSkinkers is a privately funded technology company headquartered in London withoffices in Milan, New York and Sydney. Established in 2001, their expansion hasbeen rapid. Many of the world's leading brands use Skinkers technology. Skinkersreceived 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 ExchangeRelated Shares:
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