Black Widow developer nets $2m for web expansion

Investee Company – mCentric (Spain)

Investee Company Business Type – Provides 3G mobile and multi-access Internet applications and services

Type of Financing – Expansion

Equity Providers – far blue, eVC

Equity Leader (Individual) – Co-led

Debt Providers – N/A

Debt Type – N/A

Debt Leader (Individual) – N/A

Equity Amount – $2 million

Total Deal Value – $2 million

Other Advisors – Far Blue’s legal adviser was SJ Berwin

Comments – Madrid-based mCentric, a software infrastructure provider of innovative products and services for the 3G mobile/multi access Internet industry, has raised $2 million in follow-up funding.

The deal was co-led by technology investment and management group far blue and specialist technology investment firm eVC. MCentric, which also has offices in the UK, Portugal and the US, will use the capital to expand its product range and provide further services, with its focus on Europe, and is on course to break even early next year.

The new round comes exactly a year after far blue and eVC both invested in mCentric’s first round of funding, in August 2000. Since then, the 60-strong company has secured contracts with several large European mobile telephone operators, namely Airtel, Amena and Telefonica Moviles in Spain, Belgacom Mobile in Belgium and Telecel in Portugal.

Founded in February 2000, mCentric’s mission is to help businesses of any size join the Internet e-commerce explosion successfully. To this end it provides mobile and multi-access Internet applications through Black Widow, a 3G 100% XML-based internet platform, and services tailor-made to the specific needs of mobile and multi-access users, including Midas, a 3G rating and billing system.

Nick Papadopolous, CEO of eVC, said: “We had other VC offers to invest in this round… when we looked at mCentric, its technology, management and products we wanted overwhelmingly to continue to back mCentric”. Kevin Daly, CEO of mCentric, referred to the further funding by two of the original investors as a “great display of faith in our end-products.”