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Saints Capital to Acquire Interests in Ten Companies From Innovacom Gestion(Marketwire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SAN FRANCISCO, CA, September 4 / MARKET WIRE/ -- Saints Capital, a leading secondary direct investment firm, today announced that it has acquired interests in ten different companies from Innovacom Gestion, an active early stage investor in Europe and North America. As part of the transaction, Saints will acquire all of the Innovacom shares in Actelis Networks, Inc., Air2Web, Inc., Aperto Networks, Inc., Envivio, Inc., Kirusa, Inc., KXEN, Inc., Netasq, Selligent SA, and Xtime, Inc., as well as a partial share position in Witbe.Net. "While most people only think of IPOs or acquisitions when it comes to realizing liquidity on investments, this deal is a prime example of Saints' ability to provide a third form of liquidity: the direct secondary sale. The direct secondary can be a much faster liquidity solution and still provide attractive valuations," said Ken Sawyer, managing director of Saints Capital. "Investing in assets that are domiciled both in the United States and Europe illustrates our firm's unique ability to close a transaction with assets located around the world." Saints is the leading global investment firm focused solely on the acquisition and management of venture capital portfolios on a secondary basis. These activities assist sellers who are seeking to obtain immediate liquidity for their investment stakes or to minimize future investment requirements in private equity. Saints remains committed to partnering with sellers to meet their objectives while providing portfolio companies with the necessary follow-on capital and a stable, long-term committed investor base. As active managers, a senior investment professional at Saints will serve as a director on the boards of Envivio, Kirusa, KXEN, Selligent and Xtime. "This specific fund was nearing the end of its lifecycle, and we had a number of very attractive investments for whom a traditional exit at this time did not make sense. With this transaction, Saints will step in to provide the continued capital necessary to help these companies grow and ultimately execute on their strategy," said Denis Champenois, chairman of the board of directors with Innovacom Gestion. "We are excited to partner with Saints, as we feel that they will provide a similar caliber of stewardship and value-add for these companies in the years to come." Campbell Lutyens, a global specialist secondary advisory firm, acted as exclusive financial adviser to Innovacom on the transaction. About Innovacom Innovacom is a venture capital firm, based in Paris, investing in telecommunication and information technology start ups. Since 1988 Innovacom has helped launch innovative companies such as Business Objects, Cobalt Networks, Gemplus, Intershop, Kelkoo, LastMinute.com, Netcentrex, Inventel, Infovista, Soitec. With over $600 million under management, Innovacom is investing internationally in early stage companies. www.innovacom.com About Saints Capital Saints Capital is a leading direct secondary acquirer of venture capital and private equity investments in emerging growth companies around the globe. Saints also makes traditional direct venture capital investments on a primary basis and in special situations in technology, healthcare, consumer and industrial companies in the United States. Saints is headquartered in San Francisco, with investment professionals throughout Europe and Asia. Saints currently manages funds with investments in over 175 individual companies totaling approximately $2.0 billion in originally invested capital. www.saintsvc.com Copyright ? 2008 Marketwire |