SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 5, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Avolent, Inc., the leader in Interactive Self-Service Electronic Billing and Payment software solutions today announced the closing of a $9 million equity financing round led by RBC Technology Ventures.
"Interactive, self-service electronic billing and payment addresses one of the greatest opportunities to reshape a fundamental customer interaction, turning the invoice-to-pay process into a valuable customer asset," said Doug Roberts, Chief Executive Officer of Avolent. "We are pleased to have a high caliber investor like RBC join our existing investors to help ensure that Avolent continues to dominate this growing market."
With this round of funding, Avolent will expand its footprint in Europe and Asia, investing in partner relationships worldwide and further develop its sales and marketing initiatives to address the escalating demand for eBilling and ePayment among global enterprise organizations.
As the venture arm of one of the world's leading banks, RBC Technology Ventures recognizes the importance of the invoice-to-cash process for eBusiness. "There is substantial opportunity to streamline the billing and payment portion of a customer's experience with any company," said Robert Antoniades, Managing Director of RBC Technology Ventures Inc. "Avolent is well positioned to pursue these opportunities and capitalize on the rising demand for this service."
This round also includes strong participation from Avolent's previous investors including Columbia Capital, Constellation Ventures (Bear Stearns), and Rho Ventures, who continue to show their commitment as Avolent invests further in its industry leading product for interactive, self-service electronic billing and payment.
Avolent continues to make sizeable inroads into new and existing markets with momentum fueled by its close relationships with partners and with the recent addition of its Standard Edition and software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for mid-size enterprises and divisions of larger organizations. AVOLENT Standard Edition packages key interactive self-service eBilling functionality into a simple to deploy, cost-effective package.
About Avolent, Inc.
Avolent is the leading application software provider for Interactive Self-Service Electronic Billing and Payment for organizations that are committed to an eBusiness strategy. By implementing Avolent software, organizations can improve customer service and satisfaction, reduce operating costs, increase revenues, accelerate cash flow, and promote compliance. Three of the top five eBusiness companies in the world have standardized on Avolent. Today, 10 eBills are presented every second through Avolent software. Avolent's customers include AT&T, Do It Best, MasterCard, Highmark, Office Depot, Unisys, Wells Fargo, and two of the three largest PC suppliers in the world. For more information call (888) 652-0864 or visit www.avolent.com.
About RBC Technology Ventures Inc.
RBC Technology Ventures is the venture capital affiliate of Royal Bank of Canada. Formed in 1997, the firm's activities include early stage venture capital fund investments and direct investments in software technology companies throughout North America. Investment activity is focused on selected high growth, emerging sectors in North America, where a significant level of scientific, technological and entrepreneurial expertise and nurturing are needed to accelerate ideas into market-ready companies.
About Columbia Capital
Columbia Capital specializes in funding companies in the communications and information technology industries. With its experienced managers with diverse industry backgrounds in entrepreneurial ventures, management, finance, regulation and engineering, their team has managed investments in approximately 100 companies in the communications and information technology sectors, ranging from small, early-stage investments to multibillion-dollar public companies. Their most recent private equity fund of $856 million raised in 2000 brings the total dollar value under their management to $1.4 billion.
About Constellation Ventures
Constellation Ventures, a Bear Stearns Asset Management Venture Capital Fund, manages $450 million in venture capital through offices in New York and Tokyo. The fund invests between $5 and $25 million in early to mid-stage companies in the Media, Communications and Software sectors. Constellation Ventures provides its portfolio companies with strategic value-added services.
About Rho Venture Group
Rho has been an active venture capital investor since its inception in 1981. Venture capital funds managed to date exceed $1.3 billion. Rho diversifies its investments across various high growth sectors, including information technology, healthcare and communications, and throughout all stages of a company's development from seed to mezzanine rounds. They have invested in over 175 venture stage companies with venture investments that have included Capstone Turbine, Ciena Corporation, and Commerce One. Rho Ventures is currently investing its fifth venture fund, valued at $425 million and launched in 2005.