QVC leads a $7.5 million financing for rich media provider Scene7
Scene7 Inc., a provider of rich media for web sites, has received $7.5 million in Series C funding, led by electronic merchant QVC. Scene7`s existing major investors, including Moore Capital, David Rubenstein of The Carlyle Group, Halpern Denny & Co. and Xcelera, also participated in the round.
Scene7 provides a rich media platform that can be deployed via the web and e-mail. It also provides images to displays, and print uses while automating media production and delivery. QVC is a $5 billion majority owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corp.
"We invest in companies that have attained market leadership through superior technology and services, broad customer relationships, strong partner ecosystems and world-class management, while also being strategic to our current and future business plans," said Jeffrey Branman, president of Interactive Technology Partners, an investment advisor to QVC. "Scene7 clearly meets all our criteria - and we look forward to helping take this company to new heights."
Scene7 plans to use the funds “to strengthen Scene7`s market leading position, further scale operations to meet strong demand and pursue strategic opportunities.” The companies also said in a statement: “Scene7 and QVC will collaborate on several short and long-term initiatives to extend Scene7`s platform for the benefit of both companies, their customers and partners.”
Characterizing QVC’s investment as strategic and not just a venture play, Scene7 CEO Doug Mack tells Internet Retailer that within the next month, the companies expect to launch a joint product offering that will broaden what’s currently available on Scene7’s dynamic imaging platform. To be deployed on QVC.com, the new product also will be offerd to other online marketers as well as manufacturers’ web sites. While he did not disclose details, Mack says the new product, relating to online product presentation, will focus on multi-channel commerce and the use of the Internet as a delivery vehicle for commerce, whether directly or indirectly to support commerce through channels.
Longer term, the companies will focus a shared development effort on “on demand commerce,” an emerging commerce model that integrates broadcast, the Internet and other devices, he adds.
For now, besides using the funding to continue to expand imaging applications and their distribution, including ramping up sales efforts to meet marketplace demand, Mack says that Scene7 also is interested in expanding through acquisitions. “It’s nice to have some extra cash on the balance sheet in the event a good strategic acquisition comes along,” he says.
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