Israeli company Versaware Technologies and Lightening Source have announced a long-term strategic cooperation agreement aimed at expanding the product lines of both companies. Versaware will provide digital book conversion services for expanding the digital library being set up by Lightning Source. Lightning, for its part, will provide printing services to Versaware's customers, offering them hard copy or digital format titles.
Lightning Source, a subsidiary of Ingram Industries, provides technologies that transform text into a versatile format called eBook, accessible via a PC and mobile devices.
Versaware, which deals in electronic and Internet publishing, has conversion agreements with ZDNet, Internet portal Lycos, British publishing house Taylor & Francis, Simon & Schuster Interactive, and Pearson, the world's biggest textbook publisher.
Versaware raised $25 million at a company value of $115 million. Investors included Japanese investment bank Nomura's European branch, investment company BG Media, Canadian venture capital fund CDPQ Communications, Swiss venture capital fund ETF, and the Belzberg group led by Marc Belzberg, president of eSim.
Versaware was set up in 1996. It is managed by Harry Fox, Eva Rosenberg and Sol Rosenberg, who invested $8 million in it. The 900-employee company has a development center in Jerusalem, offices in New York, a sales office in Silicon Valley and a branch in India.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 17 August, 2000