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Mall Networks Rewarded With $7M Series B
By Arwen Ungar 8/26/2008
Mall Networks Inc., which runs loyalty shopping and rewards programs for financial services companies, has raised a $7 million Series B financing round that it hopes will take it to profitability.
New investor Dace Ventures led the round, which closed earlier this month. Existing investors Flybridge Venture Capital Partners and Venture Capital Fund of New England also participated.
Dave Andre, president and chief executive of Mall Networks, declined to provide a valuation for the Lexington, Mass.-based company. He said the newest round had a higher valuation than earlier rounds, which totaled about $6.35 million.
Mall Networks partners with merchants who give customers rewards, such as additional frequent flyer miles, when they use their credit card to make a purchase at a qualified retailer. Mall Networks gains a portion of the commission as revenue, and charges a fee to personalize incentive programs.
The company's customers include Upromise Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co., Verizon Communications Inc., Discover and Bank Turner Sports Interactive Inc. (Nascar).
The new round of funding will be used as classic growth funds for the 40-person company, Andre said. It will be used for sales, marketing and continued product development.
Andre said the funds should last Mall Networks until it's profitable, but he didn't provide a timeline for when that will likely occur.
In conjunction with the funding, the company added Jon Chait, a partner at Dace Ventures, to its board of directors.
A similar company, I Love Rewards Inc., which mostly focuses on employee incentives and rewards, raised a C$1.5 million round in July from investors including JLA Ventures and Laurence Capital.
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