Monday, December 6, 2004

Software

Software firm Emptoris aims to expand operations in Europe, Asia with new funding

By Jeff Miller

Emptoris, a Burlington-based software company that helps large organizations track spending and negotiate pricing throughout the supply chain, has closed on $12 million in new funding.

ABS Capital Partners led the round, in which prior investors Menlo Ventures and HarborVest also participated. Emptoris has raised $52 million since it was founded in 1999.

The privately held company claims a quarter-over-quarter revenue increase of more than 200 percent for its third quarter, with annual revenue in the tens of millions.

"We'll use the capital to significantly accelerate the growth of the company," said Avner Schneur, chief executive of Emptoris. "We were profitable for a few months this year, and right now, we're at break-even."

Specifically, Schneur aims to expand in the Pacific Rim and Europe, to continue development on its product, which is currently in a 5.0 release, and to make acquisitions.

Last year, Emptoris acquired Zeborg, a Manhattan-based analytics company, for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock in a transaction that doubled the size of the company.

"We're looking for companies that can supplement what we have in the supplier management space and content related to that," Schneur said.

ABS Capital had been following Emptoris for some time, said venture partner Dean Goodermote, who recently joined the Emptoris board of directors.

"We weren't in before because it was a little too early for us," Goodermote said. "We do later stage stuff."

Some of the money, Goodermote said, will also go toward bolstering the balance sheet.

"They're dealing with big companies that like to see cash in the bank," Goodermote said.

Emptoris courts large Fortune 500 customers. GlaxoSmithKline, Motorola, and American Express are some of the company's accounts.