North Bridge backs IMN

iMakeNews, a digital communications and email marketing company, raised $20 million in a Series B investment from North Bridge Growth Equity, according to a regulatory filing.

Waltham Mass.-based iMakeNews helps businesses track the efficacy of their e-newsletters and blogs. The company has been all-but-bootstrapped since its inception in 1999, according to data from Thomson Reuters (Publisher of PE Week). It took a mere $1.4 million from the Brook Venture Fund, a Westfield, Mass.-based firm, before signing on with North Bridge. The company claims to service some 3,000 international accounts.

North Bridge, a long-time early stage only investor, raised its $545 million Growth Equity fund in 2007 to take advantage of an opportunity to put large sums to work at private companies. It was one of a handful of firms that amassed funds to tackle a market niche left vacant by PE firms seeking ever-larger buyout-style deals. It has made nine growth stage investments since its launch last year, typically aiming to put between $20 million and $50 million to work at a time, according to its site.

North Bridge General Partner Michael Pehl and Principals Ryan Sweeney and Matthew Blodgett have joined the iMakeNews board, as part of the financing, the filing shows.

The company was co-founded by brothers Peter and Jeff Mesnik, who now operate as the company’s CTO and vice president of business development, respectively. It added CEO David Fish in 2004. —Alexander Haislip