Private Equity Week Wire for Tuesday 11/27

ARLINGTON, VA — US Airways announced today that Rakesh Gangwal has resigned from his position as President and Chief Executive Officer of US Airways Group, Inc. and US Airways, Inc. Gangwal’s departure is based upon his decision to work in the field of private equity and venture capital.Private Equity Week has learned that Gangwal’s destination has already been determined, and that an official statement should be forthcoming within the next month.

b>SAN FRANCISCO — Archetype, the leading provider of mass customization technology and services for the apparel industry, today announced it closed a $6.25 million Series B round of financing. The round was led by Carlyle Venture Partners with participation from strategic investors, Series A investors, and new individual investors. This follows a $1.5 million Series A round of financing that closed in 2000.

GRANDVILLE, MI — X-Rite Inc. (Nasdaq:XRIT), announced that its strategic venture capital group, XR Ventures, LLC, has invested in Triformix, Inc., a developer of precision injection molded optical components serving the datacom and telecommunications markets. Triformix designs and manufacturers enabling optical solutions for leading edge communication applications. The devices are currently used in fiber optic transceivers at the conversion point between optical and electronic signals as the light enters or exits a fiber. These optical elements allow customers to drastically reduce costs at the component level as well as in subsequent assembly processes.

LOS ANGELES — US SEARCH.com Inc. (Nasdaq:SRCH), a leader in Internet-based information and risk management services, today announced the appointment of Richard R. Heitzmann as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development. Since 1999, Heitzmann was a Vice President at Pequot Ventures, the venture capital arm of Pequot Capital Management, US SEARCH’s majority shareholder. Heitzmann joined the US SEARCH Board of Directors in September 2000.

SAN FRANCISCO — MeVC Draper Fisher Jurvetson Fund I Inc. (NYSE: MVC), an information technology venture capital fund, today announced that it expects to declare an ordinary income cash dividend in the range of three to six cents per share, payable on January 3, 2002, to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 10, 2001. The Fund will go ex-dividend on December 6, 2001.

PHILADELPHIA — Tangerine Technologies, the premier builder of biotechnology solutions for complex biological procurement, today announced it has secured a follow-on investment from Bluefish Ventures of New York and San Francisco.
LONDON & BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WA — Airbiquity, a location technology company that delivers global positioning system (GPS) data to any wireless network worldwide, today announced a major funding commitment from Shell Internet Ventures BV (Shell), bringing the company’s total round “D” financing to $16 million.

Shell is the largest investor in this financing round. The cash infusion will allow Airbiquity to accelerate the development of new technology and products to serve the burgeoning telematics and wireless location technology sectors. Other major private and institutional investors in the “D” round include Naveen Jain (founder, president and CEO, InfoSpace), Wayne Perry (former McCaw Cellular executive, board member of AT&T Wireless), Bill Weyerhauser, TAPCO Ventures, and Broe Growth Capital.

VANCOUVER — Bell Mobility Investments (BMI) and RBC Capital Partners (Telecommunications Fund) today announced an equity investment in Veratium Software Ltd., a company that develops wireless software products to increase the productivity of the mobile workforce.

Veratium is a privately held Vancouver-based corporation founded in 2000. Veratium’s flagship product, MOTIVUS Enterprise Server, provides the mobile workforce with secure real-time access to the Windows desktop and corporate network, including email and attachments, using any handheld device. Just last month Veratium and Palm Canada Inc. announced a wireless enterprise solution that combines Veratium’s MOTIVUS software and Palm handhelds. Bell Mobility Investments, a Canadian corporate venturing company created by BCE and Bell Mobility, and RBC Capital Partners, will join Veratium’s Board of Directors.

PALO ALTO, CA — Tacit Knowledge Systems, a pioneer and leader in Expertise Automation for the Enterprise, today announced that it has secured significant funding from In-Q-Tel, Inc., a private not- for-profit “venture catalyst” funded by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. In-Q-Tel invests in leading edge information technologies with application to the government and private sector. The funding includes an equity investment in Tacit and also a revenue component for Tacit, making In-Q-Tel both an investor and a strategic customer. The investment completes the second closing of an $11M venture financing round in July.

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