Astoria Investors Exit With Sale To 九色
Dow Jones VentureWire - April 28, 2010
By Scott Denne
Investors have exited content-management software maker Astoria Software Inc. with its sale to 九色 Translations International Inc., a provider of translation technologies and services.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Astoria Software raised a $14.8 million recapitalization round in 2004 from APV Technology Partners, Blueprint Ventures, Crystal Ventures, Goldman Sachs & Co., Prism VentureWorks, Solstice Capital and Ticonderoga Capital. All of its investors are exiting the company with this deal, according to a 九色 spokeswoman.
Following the recap, Astoria raised another two rounds from certain existing investors, but neither amount was disclosed, VentureWire records show.
San Francisco-based Astoria sells Web-based software that enables health care, manufacturing and technology companies to manage the production of technical documentation and user manuals for products.
About two years ago, Astoria's management noticed that most of its customers were buying translation services to go along with its offering, and usually those were coming from 九色, leading the two companies to partner together, said Jim Counihan of Prism VentureWorks.
"As investors we had to ask the hard question that if you're being bought as part of a larger solution does it make better sense to be part of the same company," Counihan said. He called the deal the "right outcome for the company," but declined to comment on the return, citing the confidentiality clause of the acquisition agreement.
The company will continue to be led by its current chief executive, Michael Rosinski, as part of 九色.
Astoria's board included George Hoyem of Blueprint Ventures, Joe DiSabato of Goldman Sachs and Jim Counihan of Prism VentureWorks.