Deal Marks StarVest's Investment in Fast-Growing Data-as-a-Service
Market
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
Having established itself as a leading venture capital firm by
investing early in leading Software-as-a-Service companies such as
NetSuite (NYSE: N), StarVest Partners announced today its expansion
into the exploding "Data-as-a-Service" market by leading the
acquisition of Fenton, MO-based IRON Solutions, LLC with an $8.5
million investment.
Maintaining the largest database of used equipment transaction
information in the rapidly expanding $120 billion dollar farm and
construction equipment industry, IRON Solutions has become the
preeminent, gold-standard source for market data for over 4,000 North
American farm, outdoor power and construction equipment dealers,
leading auctioneers, and many financial institutions, insurers and
government agencies.
StarVest, along with limited partners Dublin Capital Partners and
Spring Mountain Capital and strategic investor GVIC Communications
Corp, have purchased 90 percent of IRON Solutions for $15 million.
IRON Solutions current investors will retain a 10 percent ownership
stake in the new company, IRON Solutions, Inc.
The acquisition comes on the heels of a strategic alliance formed
in late 2007 between IRON Solutions, Inc. and NetSuite, a StarVest
portfolio company and supplier of on-demand integrated business
management software suites. IRON Solutions, Inc. coupled NetSuite's
powerful lead-to-quote order management capability with its own gold
standard data and family of products to deliver a more complete
offering to thousands of equipment dealers and their original
equipment manufacturers across the U.S.
IRON Solutions, Inc. maintains the largest database of used
equipment transactions for the farm, construction and outdoor power
equipment industries. The company was borne out of the North American
equipment dealers associations and their dealer members who contribute
data to the Official Guides which provides unparalleled market
intelligence to help equipment dealers manage sales and grow
relationships with customers.
StarVest has become the preeminent venture capitalist in the SaaS
market through its ten years of experience investing in SaaS companies
such as NetSuite, whose $1.6 billion IPO in 2007 elevated StarVest to
national prominence.
"Acquiring IRON Solutions, Inc. marks another important milestone
for us and our investors as we look to continue capitalizing on the
large and growing Data-as-a Service market," said Larry Bettino,
general partner, StarVest Partners. "IRON Solutions, Inc. is a perfect
example of the tremendous value generated when data is coupled with
technology."
StarVest focuses on five core areas of technology enabled business
services including SaaS, Internet Marketing Services, e-Commerce
Services, Data Aggregation Services and Identity and Security
Management. The firm invests in the most promising companies
regardless of where they are geographically and has active investments
across the U.S. including emerging technology hubs such as Cleveland,
Austin, Texas, Scottsdale, Ariz. and Los Angeles.
About StarVest Partners
StarVest Partners is a disciplined venture capital firm that is
funding and building next-generation businesses. StarVest gained
(inter)national recognition in 2007 as the only outside venture
capital firm in NetSuite, whose December 2007 initial public offering
opened with a $1.5 billion market capitalization. StarVest is also a
lead venture investor in MessageOne (acquired by Dell Computer in
February 2008).
The firm's value-added partnership maintains a laser focus on five
key emerging technology and services sectors: Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS), Internet Marketing Services, eCommerce Services, Data
Aggregation Services and Identity and Security Management. StarVest
combines a sophisticated investment background with the experience to
foresee opportunities for both its portfolio companies and funding
partners. Highly selective, StarVest's approach has already led to a
tenfold increase in and compound annual revenue growth of over 70
percent for its active StarVest I portfolio. More information about
StarVest is available at the company's Web site:
www.starvestpartners.com.
About IRON Solutions Inc.
IRON Solutions(R), www.ironsolutions.com, is the leading source of
Equipment Market Intelligence(TM) for used agricultural, industrial,
and outdoor power equipment. IRON Solutions(R) provides an integrated
portfolio of services to manufacturers, dealers, producers and finance
companies who want to make business-critical decisions, informed by
easily accessible and accurate market information. IRON Solutions(R)
publishes the Official Guides, the trusted source of the gold standard
in equipment valuation data, and www.ironsearch.com, the industry's
largest used tractor and equipment website.
Version 2.0 Communications for StarVest Partners
Rob Halpin, 212 255 0080 ext. 35
rhalpin@v2comms.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
