The Austin, Texas-based company has been in operation since 1999 and raised $55.5 million, according to data from Thomson Reuters (publisher of PE Week).
Memphis, Tenn.-based venture firm
Neither NewsStand nor SSM Partners were immediately available for comment.
NewsStand and several other companies are vying for the opportunity to provide digital versions of magazines and newspapers to subscribers, touting ease of use, environmental sustainability and archival integrity as benefits of their service. NewsStand competes with companies such as Santa Clara, Calif.-based Olive Software, which has raised $15 million from
Magazine sales have had a tough time on non-digital newsstands, slumping 6.3% for the first half of the year, according to data from industry association, the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Overall subscriptions remained flat, data show.
Services such as NewsStand, Olive and Zinio are hoping to go from the PC to handheld devices. Zinio, for example, announced its service could deliver digital editions of magazines to iPhones last year. —Alexander Haislip