Updata Partners was active in the first half of 2008 closing four new investments. These four firms will all use the new equity capital for continued expansion in their respective high-growth sectors: storage virtualization, human capital management, security/compliance managed services and network security.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Portfolio Update
Merlin Technologies Corporation Closes $10 Million Series A Round from Updata Partners… read more>>
Alert Logic Closes $8.25 Million in Series C Financing… read more>>
Insight Venture Partners and Updata Partners Invest $30 Million in Storage Virtualization Leader DataCore Software … read more>>
Bradford Networks Secures $8 Million In Series B Funding… read more>>
Fund News
James Socas Joins Updata Partners As General Partner … read more>>
New Team Members: Benjamin Hall, Heather Edmondson …read more>>
MERLIN TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION CLOSES $10 MILLION SERIES A ROUND FROM UPDATA PARTNERS
In February, Updata Partners completed a $10 million Series A financing of Merlin Technologies Corporation. Formed by two veterans of the human capital management industry, the company’s mission is to become a leading provider of talent acquisition solutions through effective integration of complementary pre-employment point solution providers.
Merlin Technologies’ founders Steve Sasser and Jim Buchanan are experienced leaders in talent acquisition solutions. Both gained valuable experience working with industry leading customers as the former CEO and CFO of Peopleclick, a pioneer in this market. Sasser and Buchanan have extensive experience with merger and acquisition activities and have led other public software companies for many years.
The initial funding was used to expand operations and finance the acquisition of ASSESS Systems, a leading provider of web-enabled candidate assessment and employee development offerings. Commensurate with the funding, Ira Cohen and Barry Goldsmith from Updata Partners have joined the board of directors.
ALERT LOGIC CLOSES $8.25 MILLION IN SERIES C FINANCING
In March, we announced our investment in Alert Logic, an award-winning provider of on-demand IT compliance and security solutions. Updata Partners led the $8.25 million in Series C financing along with existing investors Hunt Ventures, OCA Ventures, DFJ Mercury and Access Venture Partners.
Alert Logic will use the new round of financing to fund its rapid growth and provide innovative IT compliance and security solutions to mid-sized organizations. Fueled by the rise of industry and government regulations such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), organizations are increasingly faced with compliance challenges. With its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, Alert Logic is uniquely positioned to help companies comply with these regulatory mandates by offering technology that is the easiest to buy, implement, and use.
Concurrent with the funding, Carter Griffin of Updata Partners has been appointed to Alert Logic’s board of directors.
INSIGHT VENTURE PARTNERS AND UPDATA PARTNERS INVEST $30 MILLION IN STORAGE VIRTUALIZATION LEADER DATACORE SOFTWARE
Updata Partners actively seeks unique opportunities for recapitalization or management buyout financing and will co-invest with trusted financial partners in larger transactions. One recent example is our investment in DataCore Software Corporation with Insight Venture Partners in April of this year.
DataCore is the leading provider of software solutions for the fast-growing storage virtualization and management market. The firm has established a significant global customer base in Europe and Asia with products that enable IT administrators to lower the cost of storage and reduce storage management complexity at a lower price than traditional solutions. DataCore had previously raised close to $85 million over four rounds of funding from venture and strategic investors including Flagship Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Scale Venture Partners and Intel Capital.
Updata Partners co-invested in a $30 million equity round led by Insight Venture Partners, providing partial liquidity to earlier investors. The new funding will also be used to fuel growth by broadening DataCore’s U.S. distribution channels.
BRADFORD NETWORKS SECURES $8 MILLION IN SERIES B FUNDING
In June, Updata Partners led an $8 million Series B round of funding in Bradford Networks, an award-winning provider of comprehensive network access control (NAC) solutions, with participation from Bradford’s Series A investor, Windspeed Ventures.
Bradford Networks is dedicated to solving the security challenges facing enterprise establishments, educational institutions, and government organizations with innovative NAC solutions for wired, wireless and VPN networks that deliver automated security services leveraging existing network infrastructures and investments. The company’s out-of-band, edge enforcement architecture currently secures more than 1 million network users at more than 400 organizations worldwide. Bradford will use the infusion of capital to expand its award-winning product portfolio, and expand sales and marketing efforts into new market segments and geographies.
Carter Griffin of Updata Partners has joined Bradford Network’s board of directors.
JAMES SOCAS JOINS UPDATA PARTNERS AS GENERAL PARTNER
In April, we were pleased to announce that James Socas, former Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Development at Symantec Corporation (Nasdaq: SYMC), joined the firm as a General Partner based in the Reston, Virginia office.
James led corporate development at Symantec, the world’s fourth largest independent software company, where he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions, venture investments, and strategic alliances. Prior to Symantec, he was a Managing Director and investment banker at Credit Suisse First Boston and Donaldson, Lufkin Jenrette where he advised many leading software companies in their strategic initiatives. James has also worked on the staff of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee and currently is appointed to serve on the State of Virginia’s Board of Corrections. He earned an M.B.A. from Harvard University and a B.A. from the University of Virginia.
We welcome two new team members who have recently joined Updata to support investment identification efforts and provide operational support.
Benjamin Hall Analyst
Ben supports the firm's business development, deal sourcing, and due diligence efforts out of our Edison, New Jersey office. Prior to joining Updata, he worked for Accenture in the Management Consulting Strategy group. Ben earned an A.B. in Government from Harvard and graduated from Phillips Academy Andover… read bio>>
Heather Edmondson Executive Assistant
Heather supports Carter Griffin and James Socas and provides general office assistance to the team in our Reston, Virginia office. Prior to joining Updata, Heather worked with the Gulick Group, a regional developer of custom homes and communities.
