WebClients, Inc.
Case Study
| Name | WebClients, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Sector | Tech & Telecom |
WebClients, Inc. is a leading player in the online market services space working with web site publishers, direct marketers and branded advertisers to optimize online ad campaigns resulting in cost effective lead generation. The company utilizes a variety of proprietary tools and technologies to develop, manage, and optimize the placement of online advertising and marketing campaigns for the purpose of generating cost effective leads. WebClients is one of the leaders in the effort to tap the potential of the Internet to deliver the right potential customer (or "lead") at the right time to the right marketer/advertiser.
WebClients was a rapidly growing and highly profitable business when Apax Partners was first introduced to the company. At that point, WebClient’s management wanted to raise capital to provide liquidity to significant passive shareholders and to establish an option pool to motivate key team members responsible for driving the rapid growth of the company. Management also wanted an equity sponsor that could provide both capital and advice for pursuing downstream acquisitions as part of a planned consolidation play in the space.
Apax Partners worked with management to review various acquisition and merger alternatives and recruit Board members with relevant backgrounds. Also, our experience as an investor in rapidly expanding businesses allowed us to anticipate growing pains and help management evaluate ways to build a team and infrastructure capable of supporting a steep revenue ramp. Since our investment online marketing and advertising expenditures have been growing at an accelerated rate and WebClients has been a clear beneficiary of this trend.
On the back of this continued outstanding performance, the company made a decision late in 2004 to begin an IPO filing process.
“Apax is committed to pursuing investment opportunities across a wide range of businesses that utilize technology to deliver transaction-based services on a highly repeatable basis. WebClients is a great example of a technology enabled service provider where significant value can be delivered to the customer via a business model made highly scaleable through the application of technology," said Greg Case, Partner, Apax Partners.
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