Monday, April 14, 2008

Commission-software maker extends recap financing

By Christopher Calnan

Three years after completing a $10 million recapitalizaton, sales-compensation software maker Centive Inc. has raised an additional $2.3 million to expand a reseller program following a partnership it reached last year with the national account services group of payroll giant Automatic Data Processing Inc.

The Lowell-based developer of human resource software that tracks employee commissions completed the financing in March. Company officials described the financing as an extension to Centive's original recapitalizaton round.

Centive was founded in 1997. In 2005, the company completed a $10 million Series A recapitalization round from new and existing venture capitalists after it had already raised $80 million during six rounds of financing.

CEO Michael Torto couldn't be reached for comment on the details of the funding. Investors include Key Venture Partners and Polaris Venture Partners, both based in Waltham, and San Francisco-based Venture Strategy Partners, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documents. Another investor listed in SEC filings is Tailwind Capital Group LLC, a New York-based firm that specializes in financing aircraft dealers.

In 2006, Centive sold its CompCentral division to Berggruen Holdings, a private company investing in direct private equity, public market securities and real estate. The deal indicated a shift by Centive to focus entirely on its software-as-a-service product and target midsize companies instead of larger enterprises, said Liz Herbert, an analyst for Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge.

Centive board members John Gannon, a Polaris Ventures partner, and Rick Faulk, the CEO of Mzinga Inc., didn't return telephone messages seeking comment.