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03/09/2004
Stonehenge Portfolio Company Alinean Closes Series A Funding
Stonehenge Capital and Grace Venture Partners Back Expansion of
Leading ROI Sales Tool Provider
Stonehenge Portfolio Company Alinean today announced that it closed its Series A venture funding, led by Stonehenge Capital Company and Grace Venture Partners, L.P.
The investment will fuel product development and market expansion for the rapidly growing ROI software developer, whose Enterprise ROI" Selling Solutions have helped leading technology vendors of all sizes generate several billion dollars in additional sales over the past 12 months.
Stonehenge, one of the most active private equity firms in the country, was formed in 1999 by the former principals of Banc One Capital Markets, the venture capital and investment banking subsidiary of Banc One Corporation. Grace Venture Partners, based in Orlando, funds a broad range of early-stage technology companies, with a focus on those that can dominate their markets.
"In just two years, Alinean has acquired one of the most impressive lists of top-tier, marquee customers we've seen - all of which openly acknowledge that Alinean's tools are helping them increase revenue by closing more substantial sales opportunities with fewer resources," said Stephen A. Bennett, director of Stonehenge, who is based in Tampa. "It's clear that Alinean's thought-leadership and solutions are cutting edge. As IT spending accelerates within today's more demanding corporate environment, the need for highly credible ROI solutions will become a necessity for all IT vendors. We see enormous opportunity for the company."
Alinean's suite of Enterprise ROI" Selling Solutions delivers:
- highly credible ROI analysis, based on an independent, detailed, third-party methodology that meets buyers' CFOs' and boards of directors- requirements for stringent financial analysis
- deep competitive analysis of what 20,000 public companies across more than 200 industries spend on IT, and how each investment translates into bottom-line performance
- detailed, customized business cases that allow IT vendors to differentiate their solutions by articulating the strategic and economic value, enabling buyer organizations to quickly determine which technology investments will yield the most powerful business results.
Alinean's software is used by nine of the 10 largest technology companies, including PeopleSoft and IBM's Tivoli division. Several Fortune 1000 companies' internal IT organizations use Alinean's tools to benchmark their own performance, and assess the potential value of proposed IT initiatives to determine which merit funding.
Alinean was founded in 2001 by Tom Pisello, an industry expert in valuation methodology for IT investments. Pisello's previous venture focused on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) benchmarking for the F1000 and was sold to Gartner Group, where Pisello directed the firm's measurement software programs, adding an important software products capability to Gartner's offerings.
"Having investor partners like Stonehenge Capital and Grace Venture Partners will help accelerate the refinement of our offerings and extend our position within this fast-growing market," said Bill Johnston, Alinean's president. "We are helping Corporate America adapt to a recent, yet permanent, paradigm shift in how IT Investments are made. Stakeholders across the board are demanding that buyers (and therefore vendors) justify how IT investments support the overall business strategy. We're providing the tools that effectively quantify ROI and articulate the business value of a solution in minutes rather than days. This is how vendors win business and close more deals faster - by giving CIOs and CFOs what they and their boards demand."
Additional information on Alinean and Tom Pisello's free e-book -IT Value Chain Management - Maximizing the ROI from IT Investments' are available at www.alinean.com.
About Stonehenge Capital
Stonehenge Capital Corporation is a private equity firm providing equity, mezzanine and debt financing for growth-oriented companies. Stonehenge Capital manages approximately $500 million in capital through its offices in Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin. For more information about Stonehenge Capital visit www.stonehengecapital.com
About Grace Venture Partners
Grace Venture Partners is an Orlando-based venture capital firm investing in the technology and hospitality industries. The firm's first fund, Grace Venture Partners, LP, invests in early stage technology companies in the areas of communications infrastructure, semiconductors and software. The technology fund has an emphasis on East Coast investments and those involving the commercialization of military technology. The firm's second fund, Grace Restaurant Partners, LP, invests in emerging growth restaurant companies located throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.graceventure.com
About Alinean
Alinean develops software tools to prove and improve the value of IT investments. The company's founding team pioneered the concept of interactive ROI and TCO software in 1994, developing award-winning solutions for leading IT vendors and consultants. Its research methodologies and software tools are used by analyst firms, vendors and enterprises, and have helped justify billions of dollars in IT spending and derived value. The company, founded in 2001, is privately held and headquartered in Orlando. For more information, visit www.alinean.com or call 407.382.0005.
Leading ROI Sales Tool Provider
Stonehenge Portfolio Company Alinean today announced that it closed its Series A venture funding, led by Stonehenge Capital Company and Grace Venture Partners, L.P.
The investment will fuel product development and market expansion for the rapidly growing ROI software developer, whose Enterprise ROI" Selling Solutions have helped leading technology vendors of all sizes generate several billion dollars in additional sales over the past 12 months.
Stonehenge, one of the most active private equity firms in the country, was formed in 1999 by the former principals of Banc One Capital Markets, the venture capital and investment banking subsidiary of Banc One Corporation. Grace Venture Partners, based in Orlando, funds a broad range of early-stage technology companies, with a focus on those that can dominate their markets.
"In just two years, Alinean has acquired one of the most impressive lists of top-tier, marquee customers we've seen - all of which openly acknowledge that Alinean's tools are helping them increase revenue by closing more substantial sales opportunities with fewer resources," said Stephen A. Bennett, director of Stonehenge, who is based in Tampa. "It's clear that Alinean's thought-leadership and solutions are cutting edge. As IT spending accelerates within today's more demanding corporate environment, the need for highly credible ROI solutions will become a necessity for all IT vendors. We see enormous opportunity for the company."
Alinean's suite of Enterprise ROI" Selling Solutions delivers:
- highly credible ROI analysis, based on an independent, detailed, third-party methodology that meets buyers' CFOs' and boards of directors- requirements for stringent financial analysis
- deep competitive analysis of what 20,000 public companies across more than 200 industries spend on IT, and how each investment translates into bottom-line performance
- detailed, customized business cases that allow IT vendors to differentiate their solutions by articulating the strategic and economic value, enabling buyer organizations to quickly determine which technology investments will yield the most powerful business results.
Alinean's software is used by nine of the 10 largest technology companies, including PeopleSoft and IBM's Tivoli division. Several Fortune 1000 companies' internal IT organizations use Alinean's tools to benchmark their own performance, and assess the potential value of proposed IT initiatives to determine which merit funding.
Alinean was founded in 2001 by Tom Pisello, an industry expert in valuation methodology for IT investments. Pisello's previous venture focused on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) benchmarking for the F1000 and was sold to Gartner Group, where Pisello directed the firm's measurement software programs, adding an important software products capability to Gartner's offerings.
"Having investor partners like Stonehenge Capital and Grace Venture Partners will help accelerate the refinement of our offerings and extend our position within this fast-growing market," said Bill Johnston, Alinean's president. "We are helping Corporate America adapt to a recent, yet permanent, paradigm shift in how IT Investments are made. Stakeholders across the board are demanding that buyers (and therefore vendors) justify how IT investments support the overall business strategy. We're providing the tools that effectively quantify ROI and articulate the business value of a solution in minutes rather than days. This is how vendors win business and close more deals faster - by giving CIOs and CFOs what they and their boards demand."
Additional information on Alinean and Tom Pisello's free e-book -IT Value Chain Management - Maximizing the ROI from IT Investments' are available at www.alinean.com.
About Stonehenge Capital
Stonehenge Capital Corporation is a private equity firm providing equity, mezzanine and debt financing for growth-oriented companies. Stonehenge Capital manages approximately $500 million in capital through its offices in Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin. For more information about Stonehenge Capital visit www.stonehengecapital.com
About Grace Venture Partners
Grace Venture Partners is an Orlando-based venture capital firm investing in the technology and hospitality industries. The firm's first fund, Grace Venture Partners, LP, invests in early stage technology companies in the areas of communications infrastructure, semiconductors and software. The technology fund has an emphasis on East Coast investments and those involving the commercialization of military technology. The firm's second fund, Grace Restaurant Partners, LP, invests in emerging growth restaurant companies located throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.graceventure.com
About Alinean
Alinean develops software tools to prove and improve the value of IT investments. The company's founding team pioneered the concept of interactive ROI and TCO software in 1994, developing award-winning solutions for leading IT vendors and consultants. Its research methodologies and software tools are used by analyst firms, vendors and enterprises, and have helped justify billions of dollars in IT spending and derived value. The company, founded in 2001, is privately held and headquartered in Orlando. For more information, visit www.alinean.com or call 407.382.0005.
| Associated Company |
| Alinean, Inc. |
| Associated Office |
| Tampa |
