MarketSwitch, Dulles, VA, an enterprise marketing optimization technology provider, yesterday announced the completion of its Series B Preferred Stock offering, having secured more than $20 million from a syndicate of investors led by Sandler Capital Partners IV L.P., New York, an investment firm that manages more than $2 billion in assets invested in the communications industries, specifically telecommunications, Internet, media and entertainment.
MarketSwitch offers technology for outbound as well as inbound, Web-enabled enterprise-class marketing and customer care applications and applies financial and behavioral analytics — as well as business goals and constraints — to the multi-offer problems of marketers. The MarketSwitch technology is used by America Online, Dulles; MCI WorldCom, Clinton, MS; Capital One, Falls Church, VA; HealthExtras, Rockville, MD; iSKY, Columbia, MD; Fair, Isaac, St. Paul, MN; and Exchange Applications, Boston.
Principal investors in this round also include East River Ventures II L.P.; Société Générale, the eighth-largest European bank, through its proprietary merchant banking fund SG Partners II LLC; and FBR Technology Venture Partners L.P. These groups participated in the company’s earlier Series A Preferred Stock offering
North Hill Ventures L.P., the venture capital affiliate of Capital One Financial Corp., which is an early adopter of the MarketSwitch customer optimization technology, was also a principal.
The mezzanine round was managed by Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc., State College, PA. Funds will scale the business and extend the company’s brand awareness in the customer relationship management and eCRM marketplace. Legg Mason estimates the market for enterprise marketing optimization software and systems will approach $5 billion by 2003, the same amount the electronic marketing automation segment of the CRM software industry will reach, which is predicted by International Data Corp.
“MarketSwitch delivers ground-breaking technology in a fast-moving and exciting market space,” said Michael Marocco, managing director at Sandler Capital Management. “The company has a solid business strategy and an experienced management team, and is poised to exploit the boom in eCRM with its unique marketing optimization technology.”
