SHREVEPORT, La., Jan. 8, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Advantage Capital Partners, the Louisiana Technology Fund and other investors today announced participation in a $3 million funding round for ArcMail Technology, a leading provider of email archiving and management technology. The funding will be used to support the company's marketing and product development needs.
"As email volume and storage problems continue to rise, effective message management becomes more critical," said Todd Gates, president of ArcMail Technology. "The funding from our investors will allow us to grow our staff, fine tune our products and reach out to more customers in need of an email archive solution."
"The ArcMail Technology investment will help bring new jobs and growth to Northwest Louisiana," said Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton. "The state's CAPCO program is a vital economic development tool that has attracted billions of investment dollars to the state and increased economic activity."
ArcMail Technology, based in Shreveport, provides simple, secure and cost-effective email archive solutions to the small and medium-sized business (SMB) market. The company provides an email archive product that improves the end-user experience, reduces the load on IT resources, and safely and securely retains the business information contained in emails. ArcMail's Defender product line has been designed to meet the archiving requirements of SMBs from as few as five all the way up to 2,000 plus mailboxes.
"One of the primary goals of the Louisiana Technology Fund is to retain and develop new technology jobs, resulting in significant economic gains for Louisiana," said Dennis Lower, director of InterTech Science Park. "ArcMail is an innovative technology company and I'm happy that it has found a home in Shreveport."
"ArcMail delivers an exceptional product in a marketplace that is still in its infancy," said Les Alexander, senior vice president at Advantage Capital. "Our investment will play a role in the company's growth and will also bring nine new jobs to the Shreveport area over the course of the year."
Advantage Capital made its investment in ArcMail Technology in connection with Louisiana's Certified Capital Company (CAPCO) program, which encourages the flow of investment capital to promising companies located in the state.
About Advantage Capital Partners
Advantage Capital Partners (http://www.advantagecap.com) is a private equity and venture capital firm focused on early stage companies and other investments supporting state and local economic development. With offices in New Orleans, St. Louis, Austin and other U.S. cities, Advantage has raised more than $800 million in institutional private equity since 1992 and invested in companies located in geographic areas underserved by traditional venture capital.
About the Certified Capital Company program
Advantage Capital Partners is a leading participant in the Certified Capital Company (CAPCO) program, a state economic development tool designed to strengthen state economies by stimulating the flow of investment capital to local small businesses, creating high-paying jobs and increasing state tax revenues. Under a CAPCO program, insurance companies are encouraged to invest in certified capital companies; the state allows the insurance companies to claim tax credits for qualified investments in CAPCO funds. Taken over time, the tax credits generate large pools of private venture capital to be invested in the state. CAPCOs leverage the funds received from insurance companies to invest in qualified small businesses in the state.
About the Louisiana Technology Fund
The Louisiana Technology Fund is a partnership of the state's four research parks and Louisiana's CAPCOs. The technology fund invests in companies engaged in or intending to engage in technology-based products or services in information technology, communications, medical, biomedical, advanced materials, food environment or micro-manufacturing technologies. The research parks included are the Louisiana Technology Park in Baton Rouge, University of New Orleans Research and Technology Park, University Research Park in Lafayette and InterTech Science Park in Shreveport.