|
Winter 2010 | Commonwealth Capital Ventures Newsletter
Greetings!
Welcome
to the Winter 2010 Commonwealth Capital Ventures Newsletter. As we usher in the
New Year we have much news including a noteworthy exit, an exciting new investment, and significant
news from our portfolio companies. You can read the complete details of these
and other developments below.
As
a new decade begins, we remain committed to patiently backing companies that
are capable of creating long-term value. If you have a company or an idea that
you believe has the potential for long-term success, we encourage you to talk
with us to see if we can be a good partner as you grow your business.
All the best,
The Commonwealth Capital Ventures Team
|
 | |
Liquidity Events
|
 Nova Analytics: In February, ITT Corporation (NYSE: ITT), a global leader in the transport and treatment of water, wastewater and other
fluids, announced its agreement to purchase Nova Analytics Corporation. "ITT is the perfect acquirer for Nova Analytics", said Jim Barbookles, Chairman
and CEO of Nova Analytics. "The combination of Nova's brands, premium technology
and dedicated employees will enhance ITT's competitive position in Analytical
Instruments."
The transaction is expected to close within the first quarter of 2010, pending
customary regulatory approvals. Commonwealth first invested in Nova Analytics in March of 2003. The Nova team was incubated in Commonwealth's offices. The acquisition will produce well over a 10x return on Commonwealth's investment.
Click Here for the Press Release
|
| |
New Investments
|
 Auction Holdings: In December, Commonwealth led a $13M Series C investment
in Auction Holdings. Based in Allston,
MA, Auction Holdings is a
multi-faceted company that provides data, software, and services to traditional
auction houses and auctioneers that sell art, antiques, collectibles and other
unique and valuable merchandise. Since its inception in 2003, Auction Holdings
has acquired Artfact, Invaluable, RFC Systems and most recently, Auctionzip.
Each entity serves the traditional estate auction community in a unique way. Combined,
these entities provide services to a growing community of over 16,000 estate
auctioneers worldwide, giving over two million art, antiques, and collectibles
enthusiasts unprecedented access to search over 160,000 estate auctions each
year with a combined value of over $20 billion.
Click Here for the Press Release
|
| |
Portfolio Company News
|
 Tungle
in June announced Tungle.me. The product, from
the Montreal,
Canada-provider of calendar accelerators, is a first in click-to-meet
technology. It provides the simplest way for professionals to make meetings
happen, and is available through Facebook, blogs, and more. In July, Tungle
announced availability of the product to the more than 7.5 million members of
XING via the new XING Partner Ecosystem, allowing members to connect their
calendar to their profiles and giving them simple scheduling capabilities they
didn't have before. Tungle.me provides personalized URLs where contacts can see
users' free/busy calendars and quickly schedule meetings, sends meeting
confirmations, and automatically updates calendars.
 Antenna Software announced in December that it has been
positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the Leaders quadrant of the "Magic Quadrant for
Mobile Enterprise Application Platforms" report. This recognition comes during
a landmark year for Antenna - with more than 200 customers, 250,000 end users
and a compound annual growth rate of 85 percent in recurring revenues. The
company's success in 2009 was fueled by the acquisition of key competitor
Dexterra, significant customer and partner success and continued product
innovation on the Antenna Mobility Platform.
 The Echo Nest announced in November that its music
intelligence platform will service online music provider MOG's All Access
product. The Echo Nest will power smarter applications within MOG's music
streaming services to enable better music search, recommendation and
interactivity. The deal reflects one of several recent partnerships for The
Echo Nest as it continues to establish its position as the leading online music
intelligence platform.
 ByAllAccounts announced that it has been awarded a patent for
its "Financial Portfolio Management System and Method." The patent caps a
highly successful ear for the company that saw more than $100 billion in assets
flow through its services, up 100 percent from 2008.
|
| |
Partner Viewpoints
|
Commonwealth
partners spoke at a number of recent industry conferences and were quoted in a
number of articles as well.
Mike Fitzgerald Featured in Vator News Interview
"VCs Get Creative About Consolidation"
Waltham, MA --
The
exit markets have been slow now for about two years, and that means
consolidation. It's hard to get accurate aggregate numbers for venture-backed
acquisitions of venture-backed companies, but Commonwealth VC Mike Fitzgerald
says it's growing more common as firms' thirst for liquidity grows acute.
Read the Full Interview
Steve McCormack in October participated
as a judge at the Speed Venture Summit™ in Nashua, New Hampshire. Hosted by the
New Hampshire High Technology Council and the New Hampshire Small Business
Development Center, the summit is an event in which fifty of New England's fastest-growing
companies present to a panel of the leading investors.
Also
in October, Steve served as a panel judge for Microsoft BizSpark Incubation
Week for Windows 7. The event, held in Boston, helps entrepreneurs find new
resources and ways to reduce costs and inefficiencies in the face of the current
economic downturn.
Click here to Read More
Elliot Katzman provided views
and predictions for the upcoming year as a member of the Vilna Shul's Speakers
Series' Annual Panel of Leaders in Venture Capital. The event took place on
January 14, 2010. In addition to Elliot, the panel included Jeff Fagnan of
Atlas Ventures, Jonathan Seelig of Globespan Partners and Eric Paley of Founder
Collective. Howard Anderson, Senior Lecturer of Entrepreneurship, MIT Sloan
School of Business, served as panel moderator.
Click here to Read More
Justin Perreault provided his
thoughts on the state of the Venture Capital industry as part of TiE-Boston's
Annual VC Outlook Dinner. The event took place on January 28, 2010. In addition
to Justin, the panel included Peter Bell of Highland Capital, Sunil Dhaliwal of
Battery Ventures, Jens Eckstein of TVM Capital, Jeff Fagnan of Atlas Venture,
and Jeff Glass of Bain Capital Ventures. Robert Weisman, Technology and
Business Writer for the Boston Globe, served as panel moderator.
Click here to Read More
|
| |
Contact Information:
Commonwealth Capital Ventures
Bay Colony Corporate Ctr.
950 Winter Street
Suite 4100
Waltham, MA 02451 | | |
|
|
|
 |
| Commonwealth Capital Ventures is a leading venture capital firm focused on software & services, Internet & digital media, communications & wireless, and instruments & systems investments. Since its inception in 1995, the firm has invested in roughly 140 high-growth companies. Commonwealth currently manages more than $580 million of committed capital across four funds. To learn more about our team, click here. | |
 |
General Partners
|
 |
|
|
We developed this newsletter using a web-based application
from Constant Contact, a Commonwealth Capital Ventures
portfolio company.
To easily create, deliver, and manage email marketing campaigns,
visit the Constant Contact website for a free trial.
|
|
|
|
