ThingWorld.com Closes Third Round Financing: @Ventures, Cyrk, Intel, Microsoft and NFL Quarterback Club Become Investors.NEWTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 11, 1999--ThingWorld.com (www.thingworld.com), a Newton, MA-based Internet media company that enables companies to drive traffic and commerce in unique ways through compelling digital content, today announced that it has closed its third round of financing. This round includes investments from Cyrk, Intel Corporation (company) Intel Corporation - A US microelectronics manufacturer. They produced the Intel 4004, Intel 8080, Intel 8086, Intel 80186, Intel 80286, Intel 80386, Intel 486 and Pentium microprocessor families as well as many other integrated circuits and personal computer networking , Microsoft Corp., and the NFL Quarterback Club NFL Quarterback Club is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System game to feature quarterbacks from the NFL. Troy Aikman and Warren Moon are two examples of what players can use during the game. , as well as Mitch Kapor Mitchell David Kapor (born 1950) is the founder of Lotus Development Corporation and the designer of Lotus 1-2-3, the "killer application" often credited with making the personal computer ubiquitous in the business world in the 1980s. , co-founder of Lotus Development Corporation (company) Lotus Development Corporation - A software company who produced Lotus 1-2-3, the Symphony spreadsheet and Lotus Notes for the IBM PC. Disliked by the League for Programming Freedom on account of their lawsuits. Quarterly sales $224M, profits $10M (Aug 1994). . In addition, all investors from previous rounds have increased their equity investments. These investors include BancBoston Capital; @Ventures, the affiliated venture capital arm of CMGI CMGI Commonly Maintained Grounds Infrastructures CMGI College Marketing Group Information (Services) ; the Kraft Group The Kraft Group, LLC is a group of privately held companies in the professional sports, manufacturing, and real-estate development industries doing business in 82 countries[1]. ; Venture Management; and Wasserstein Adelson Ventures, L.P. The financial details of the investment remain undisclosed. "This round represents another milestone for ThingWorld.com," stated Steve Barlow, Chairman and CTO (Chief Technical Officer) The executive responsible for the technical direction of an organization. See CIO and salary survey. of ThingWorld.com. "This additional financing will help us continue to build a sustainable business A business is sustainable if it has adapted its practices for the use of renewable resources and holds itself accountable for the environmental and human rights impacts of its activities. around the value and potential of our technology and the ThingWorld.com Network. The round also represents a return engagement for all previous investors, showing their support of both our accomplishments to date and our march toward building a solid enterprise." ThingWorld.com's mission is to provide entertainment, sports and media companies with solutions that enable them to bolster their online traffic and commerce. The company has secured investments from influential players in these key vertical markets, as well as from technology leaders. "ThingWorld.com continues to build a viable business based on superior technology, broad content distribution and a unique business model," stated David Wetherell, Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of CMGI. "Since the previous round, they have formed strong partnerships with leaders in a variety of vertical markets by developing technologies and distribution options that fit their customers' business models and needs. They are poised to cross the chasm to maturity that bedevils many Internet companies." "We have worked with ThingWorld.com to integrate our Windows Media Platform with their Thing technology, and the easy integration of the two technologies showcases and helps to differentiate Microsoft's offerings in the streaming media marketplace," said Will Poole, Senior Director of Platform Strategy and Business Development at Microsoft. "In addition, we have been intrigued by the relationships that ThingWorld.com has spearheaded with GeoCities, Lycos, the NFL NFL abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga , and WWF See Windows Workflow Foundation. among others in their customer base. We are very pleased to invest in a company with such synergistic objectives and goals in a number of very key areas." "Our investment in ThingWorld.com represents the type of equity partnership that the Quarterback Club has been seeking over the past few years," said Bernie Kosar, NFL Quarterback Club Chairman. "ThingWorld.com will allow us to develop NFL QB Club programming online while safeguarding our trademarks and licensing properties." INVESTORS BancBoston Capital BancBoston Capital provides a wide range of equity options, from early stage venture capital to equity sponsorship, co-investment and mezzanine capital for buyouts, recapitalizations and expansion of mid-size companies. In its 39 years, BancBoston Capital has invested over $2 billion in 350 companies in a wide range of industries worldwide. Currently, BancBoston Capital's portfolio consists of more than 150 direct investments and over 150 primary and secondary funds. With a strong global business base and strategic alliances worldwide, BancBoston Capital currently has offices in Boston, London, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo. CMGI and @Ventures A recognized leader in the Internet arena, CMGI (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :CMGI) has built a sizeable base of Internet operating companies, and through its @Ventures affiliate, a large number of related and synergistic Internet investments, using the businesses and technologies of these companies to enhance the value of its core operating companies. This unique method of creating equity for its shareholders is what CMGI calls "creating net value." Microsoft, Intel and Sumitomo hold minority positions in CMGI. The CMGI Internet Group consists of its majority-owned subsidiary majority-owned subsidiary A firm in which more than 50% of outstanding voting stock is owned by the parent company. companies ADSmart, Engage Technologies, NaviSite, NaviNet, Planet Direct, Magnitude Network and ZineZone.com. CMGI's @Ventures affiliate has ownership interests in Lycos, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) A technology used to make microdisplays for rear-projection TVs and head-mounted displays (HMDs). Each LCoS chip hosts a grayscale LCD shutter sandwiched between a cover glass and a mirror. ), blaxxun, GeoCities (NASDAQ:GCTY), Vicinity, ThingWorld.com, KOZ.com, Silknet, Chemdex, Speech Machines, Softway Systems, TicketsLive, Critical Path, MotherNature.com, Raging Bull, Universal Learning Technology, Visto, Virtual Ink, Ancestry.com, ONElist, Furniture.com, Boston Financial Network and Asimba. CMGI also includes CMG CMG Coastal & Marine Geology (USGS) CMG Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (stock symbol) CMG Companion (of the Order Of) St Michael and St George CMG Computer Measurement Group Direct, SalesLink, InSolutions and On-Demand Solutions as majority owned subsidiaries in the direct marketing, fulfillment and turn-key arenas. Cyrk, Inc. Cyrk (www.cyrk.com) is a full-service promotional marketing company, specializing in the design and development of high-impact promotional products and programs. Customers include McDonald's, Ty Beanie Babies, M&M Mars and Volkswagen of America Volkswagen of America (VWoA) is the U.S. subsidiary of the Volkswagen automobile company in Germany. Formed in April 1955 in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey to standardize dealership service in the United States, it grew to 909 Volkswagen dealers in the United States by 1965 under the . Founded in 1976 and based in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Cyrk is a worldwide company with offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. The Kraft Group The Kraft Group is comprised of companies in the paper and packaging industries, the sports and entertainment industries and various private equity investments. In paper and packaging, the group's holdings include the Rand-Whitney Group and International Forest Products Corporation. In sports and entertainment, the group's holdings include Foxboro Stadium, the National Football League's New England Patriots  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled until (UTC) due to vandalism. and Major League Soccer's New
England Revolution The New England Revolution, nicknamed the Revs, is a professional soccer club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts, that participates in Major League Soccer. Even though the club is based in Foxborough, the club represents all of New England. and San Jose Clash. The Kraft Group also has private
equity investments in various Internet-related businesses.
Microsoft Corporation Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT MSFT Microsoft (stock symbol) MSFT Movimento Sociale Fiamma Tricolore (Italy) MSFT Multi-Stage Fitness Test MSFT Master of Science in Family Therapy MSFT Macalester Students for Fair Trade ") is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day. NFL Quarterback Club Formed in 1991, the NFL Quarterback Club is a business entity that offers corporate America the chance to associate with and tap into the popularity the power of the NFL's biggest stars. Since its inception, the Quarterback Club's mission is to build strategic alliances with companies and gain equity partnerships in a wide diversity of enterprises. The founding club members include Troy Aikman, Bubby Brister, Randall Cunningham, John Elway, Boomer Esiason, Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, Dan Marino, Warren Moon, Phil Simms and Steve Young. Venture Management Venture Management focuses on early stage and seed financing for high-technology companies in the Boston/Washington corridor. In addition to its investments in ThingWorld.com, Venture Management and its affiliate funds, Beta Ventures, have interests in Claragen, Engineous Software, Fresh Picks, NewComm Net, NexTone, webMethods and Wisor Telecom. Wasserstein Adelson Ventures, L.P. Wasserstein Adelson Ventures was formed as a joint venture between Wasserstein Perella & Co., a global investment and merchant banking firm, and entertainment veteran Merv Adelson of East-West Capital Associates, a leader in venture investing venture investing The acquiring of a stake in a start-up company by a brokerage firm or analyst by obtaining discounted, pre-IPO shares. Critics claim venture investing causes analysts to have a vested interest in seeing a stock appreciate in value and so . With $135 million devoted to venture capital, the fund focuses primarily on start-up to mid-stage companies in the areas of media and entertainment, telecommunications, new media/technology and health care. The principals of the fund bring a broad network of industry and financial contacts as well as exceptional financial capabilities to assist high-potential companies in becoming industry leaders. ThingWorld.com ThingWorld.com is an Internet media company that enables companies to drive traffic and commerce in unique ways through compelling digital content. ThingWorld.com's customers include leading media, entertainment, music, sports and consumer brand companies looking to control and manage their intellectual property to maximize online commerce, membership, audience and brand awareness. The ThingWorld.com Internet Media Network aggregates and syndicates content to the Web's top portals and communities bringing media to millions of online consumers, much like a television network or movie distribution company. |
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