US company LivePerson (Nasdaq:LPSN) acquired US start-up NewChannel , founded by Israeli Alan Weisleder and others. LivePerson announced it paid only $1 million for the acquisition, and the deal included the transfer of NewChannel's customer base of 14 companies, including AT&T (NYSE:T), BellSouth (NYSE:BLS) and Bell Canada (TSE:BC). Some of NewChannel's staff who handle these customers directly, will probably stay with the company.
LivePerson develops and markets interactive technology between a website's visitors and operators. In October 2000, the company acquired Israeli start-up HumanClick for $9 million in a share-swap deal.
NewChannel, founded in 1997, develops Internet systems installed in e-commerce sites that enable the sites' operators to monitor visitors' activity, and using the information for various marketing purposes.
Investors in NewChannel included Israeli funds Formula Ventures, Challenge Fund - Etgar, Sadot R&D Fund, and Israel Seed Partners. Other investors included Bessemer Venture Partners, Bulldog Capital Management, Comdisco Ventures, EOS Partners, Nexus Group, Regal Capital, RRE VEntures and VantagePoint Venture Partners. NewChannel raised over $43 million, including $39 million in its last financing round, in which the Israeli funds did not participate, so far as is known.
LivePerson, one of the last Internet companies to successfully hold an IPO on Nasdaq before the crash, is now traded at a market value of $27 million, after doubling its value in the past year.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on July 18, 2002