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weblicon technologies AG convinces investors
3.2 million Euros in the second round of financing
European consortium of PEPPERMINT., IBB and Belgacom accelerates international growth and a technological edge
Berlin, 3rd September 2002. – Weblicon Technologies AG, leading provider of Personal Information Management software (PIM) has concluded a successful second round of financing. Under the leadership of the consortium of PEPPERMINT.Financial Partners, the investors Belgacom Multimedia Ventures, IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH and PEPPERMINT. make available the total sum of EUR 3.2 million. With the new finance, the Berlin company is going to pursue an offensive growth strategy, step up product and technology development and further extend the market position.
With this new investment, the development of Weblicon Technologies AG, founded in May 2000, has been secured in the long term. “The conclusion of the contract is a confirmation for our company. The fact that we are receiving venture capital at a time in which the capital markets are undergoing a crisis, is proof of the potential of the Weblicon team and our technology.” said Carsten Brinkschulte, CEO and founder of Weblicon. “The second round of financing enables us to leap into profitability.”
The subdued mood on the venture capital market becomes clear from the “VC Panel” industry barometer, investigating the investments of the 41 active venture capitalists with their location in Germany. Only two companies from the telecommunications technology branch received a further round of finance in the 2nd quarter of 2002. The statisticians of Mackewicz and Partner are forecasting further bad news for the third quarter of this year. The Federal Association of Venture Capitalists in Germany (BVK) is talking of 40 percent less investments in the year 2002, as compared to the previous year.
With the conclusion of the second round of financing, Weblicon takes on a special role among the European IT start-ups. Over the past two years, the company has managed the breakthrough thanks to a strategic mix of advanced technology and an efficient product portfolio for telecommunication companies and portals, on the one hand, and a standard software for small and medium-sized companies, on the other hand. Sales partnerships with international companies such as Ericsson and Sun Microsystems secure the long-term market success.
It is precisely for this mix that the investors made a fresh commitment, “Positioning, technology and the team have convinced us”, is how Luk Schoonbaert, Senior Investment Manager of the
Belgacom Multimedia Ventures summed it up. The Belgian corporate venture capitalist of the Belgacom telecom company does not only provide capital but at the same time an international network of sales contacts. For PEPPERMINT.Financial Partners, who had financed the company with Euro 1.5 million already in the first round, the success of the company mainly depends on the management, “We are convinced that the international team of Weblicon has the potential of implementing and developing the market opportunities”, said Managing Partner Ingeborg Neumann. And the Managing Director of IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft Marco Zeller added, “Weblicon belongs to the few Berlin IT start-ups that have held their ground internationally and will gain considerably in market clout over the coming months.”
The Personal Information Management products “Weblicon” and “Calmeno” administer everything a person needs in order to be organised in a mobile manner: appointments, addresses, tasks and messaging such as e-mail, SMS, Group-SMS and Multi Media Messaging. For the data to be up-to-date all the time, the company provides for synchronisation of all information with any mobile device available on the market through the SyncML server technology integrated into the Online Organizer, based on the international industrial SyncML standard . This is how the user can synchronise his data at any time with the Palm PDA, with MS Outlook and over the air with the PocketPC and all SyncML-enabled mobile telephones.
The “Calmeno” software product for medium-sized companies is characterised by an extremely simple user interface, tailored especially to small and medium companies. In contrast to Microsoft Exchange, Calmeno is based completely on open industrial standards such as IMAP, LDAP and SyncML, runs on industrially tested and safe UNIX operating systems and supports Windows, Macintosh and Linux.
Company briefs:
About weblicon technologies AG
weblicon technologies AG – set up in June 2000 in Berlin by a founding team around CEO Carsten Brinkschulte – develops and licenses web-based applications (Weblications) for portals, ISPs, ASPs and telcos. Personal Information Management products (PIM) are integrated seamlessly into networks of servers, applications and databases. The weblicon PIM offers a complete organizer and messaging solution with address book, calendar, ToDos, eMail, SMS, Group-SMS and MMS. As the first technology supplier in Europe, the involvement of the venture capitalists PEPPERMINT.Financial Partners made possible the synchronisation of data “over the air”, based on the international industrial SyncML standard. A Voice-XML interface makes the PIM additionally mobile. The “Weblicon“ 2001 product was awarded the “Usability 2010” certificate for its very simple user operation. The Online Organizer is one of the most successful products and is being used, for instance, by Mobilkom Austria and the German Capital Portal berlin.de. In addition, the company offers “Calmeno”, a PIM product for small and medium-sized companies, which was awarded a prize by SUN Microsystems in April 2002.
About PEPPERMINT. Financial Partners
PEPPERMINT.Financial Partners is a shareholding company with its seat in Berlin, which emerged from the Schröder + Partner Management KG, founded in 1993. They were involved in restructuring former East German companies. In order to introduce the successful corporate know-how of the Old Economy also into the New Economy, PEPPERMINT. has invested venture capital into young, innovative companies from the fields of information and communication, life sciences & nano-technology and automation & energy through their PEPPERMINT.VC-Fonds since 2000. The fund has EUR 25 million at its disposal. The other partners besides PEPPERMINT. are Dresdner Kleinwort Capital (40 percent) and the Stefan Quandt Group (20 percent).
About Belgacom Multimedia Ventures
Belgacom Multimedia Ventures (BMV) was founded in 1997 by Belgacom, Belgiums leading provider of telecommunication services. With a total investment volume of EUR 75 million, Belgacom focuses exclusively on the ICT industry. Belgacom invests bnetween EUR 125,000 and EUR 4 million in promising early-stage companies (preferably in the 1st and 2nd rounds of financing). In their engagements, Belgacom regard themselves as active investors. Belgacom’s comprehensive network (eg TeleDanmark, Singapore Telecom, SBC, Proximus and the Dutch T-Mobile) enables participation in international developments. Up until today, BMV has invested in companies such as Skynet (largest ISP in Belgium) and in eLearning, Streaming, Wireless Internet Networks, Internet markets, eHealthcare, voice recognition and Digital Right Management technologies.
About IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH
IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH was founded in 1997 and has established itself as the Berlin market leader in early-stage venture capital. Despite the difficult environment, IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH will continue to invest in young technology companies with their seat in Berlin. Emphasis is placed on life sciences, information and communication technology as well as factory automation. At the moment, IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH holds a share in 40 Berlin companies. The shareholding volume stands at EUR 27 million.
For further information:
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Weblicon Technologies AG
Corporate Communication
Torstraße 6
10119 Berlin
Germany
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Nicole Meissner
+49-173-606 91 60
eMail: n.meissner@weblicon.net
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Download press release:
e_020903_2nd_financing.doc
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