FLV Fund exits Filepool

EMC Corporation, a leader in information storage systems, software, networks and services has acquired venture capital-backed FilePool in a cash transaction valued at less than $50 million. A capital gain for one of the venture capital investors, Belgian-based FLV fund, has been confirmed. (FLV Fund sold its stake in Sequoia Software Corporation in the first quarter.)

FilePool was founded in 1991 as Wave Research and renamed FilePool in 1999, when FLV fund invested $1 million in the company. The fund granted a convertible loan of $354,000 in October 2000. FLV Fund’s investment was part of a $10 million funding round, with Alpinvest as lead investor, acquiring some 34% of the Belgian company’s shares.

Over the last two years, FilePool has used the capital injection to expand its worldwide marketing efforts. As well as Belgium, the company now operates from offices in San Bruno, California and Paris, France and has recently opened offices in Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

FilePool is an Internet infrastructure company that offers web-based applications for sharing, accessing and storing files on the Internet as well as storage outsourcing services. FilePool technology is based on an open, unified Internet storage paradigm.

The company offers partners such as ISPs, ASPs, websites, system integrators and software developers a variety of services, including servers, agents, caching servers and a software development kit, as well as guaranteed permanent storage services.

FilePool is the sixth software acquisition EMC has made since January 2000. David Donatelli, senior vice president of new business development at EMC, said: “Acquisitions such as FilePool position EMC for continued industry leadership in the burgeoning information storage market. FilePool helps expand EMC’s enterprise software capabilities and intellectual capital.”