$12m for Plenus from Velti's Nasdaq offering

A week after VC firm JVP, Plenus Venture Lending Fund gains from the exit of a foreign company.

Last week it was Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) that profited from the successful exit of CyOptics, a Pennsylvania-based company. Today, Plenus Venture Lending Fund is also gaining from an exit of a foreign company. Plenus extended two loans to international technology company Velti (LSE: VEL, Nasdaq:VELT), for a total of $7.3 million.

On Thursday, Velti held its Nasdaq IPO at $12 per share. The share closed on Friday at $15.58.

Sources inform "Globes" that Plenus is expected to receive $12 million from the deal.

Plenus manages $320 million. Its venture lending fund provides loans and credit lines to start-ups in technology, trade, services, and manufacturing. Through today, the company has provided more than $450 million in 80 transactions, and has seen 20 exits. Plenus has stakes in several mature companies, including cVidya, Provigent, and ECI Telecom.

Velti is based in Ireland. It was established by Greek graduates of MIT. The company developed a platform to manage advertisements and campaigns on cellular networks, which allows marketing firms to manage the contact with the target market and with customers. The company is working with several cellular telecommunications companies around the world. The platform has carried campaigns in more than 30 countries to more than 2.5 billion users.

Plenus provided Velti with two loans, in 2009 and in 2010, for a total of $7.3 million, to finance its current business operations and to expand operations overseas. In addition, Plenus was also due interest and shares. At the end of last week, Velti successfully held its Nasdaq IPO, which attracted strong demand. The expected range was $9-11 per share.

On Friday, after the offering, the share rose another 30% to $15.50, giving the company a market cap of more than $700 million.

Plenus general partner Ruthi Simha told "Globes" today that Velti was the only foreign company in the Plenus portfolio. "The company trades on London's AIM, and operates in Ireland. Two years ago they proposed that we should examine the company, and after checking the technology, we were convinced."

Plenus can sell its stake at any time, but has not yet done so.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 2, 2011

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011

Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018