Led by VenFin Ltd. from South Africa
Boston, MA - November 27, 2001
GenuOne, Inc., a leading provider of comprehensive brand
security systems, today announced it has raised $7 million in Series C
financing. This round is led by the publicly listed, South
African-based venture capital group, VenFin, Ltd., and also includes
funding from Boston-based Integrity Partners, LLP, as well as several
prominent Massachusetts businessmen.
VenFin served as the primary investor in Certus International,
a leading developer of patent-pending on-line authentication products,
which was acquired by GenuOne earlier this month. "Our investment
reflects our confidence in GenuOne's sales traction, the attractive
economics provided by GenuOne's business model and our belief in the
synergies GenuOne will realize from its acquisition of Certus," said
Mark Hancock of VenFin. "In this economic downturn it is especially
important to demonstrate the ability to adapt to changing conditions.
GenuOne is delivering and has all the ingredients for continued success
� a growing customer base, a solid value proposition and an excellent
executive team."
"VenFin's investment is a strong vote of confidence in our
company, and we are honored to have them join our impressive group of
investors," stated Jeffrey Unger, CEO of GenuOne. "VenFin has an
international reputation for building great companies, and their
extensive knowledge and expertise will be a vital part of our future
success," Mr. Unger continued. "This new round of financing comes at an
important time for our company. Having assembled a world class
management team and an advanced technology portfolio, this funding will
enable us to accelerate our global growth strategy and capitalize on
the huge potential of the brand protection market."
About GenuOne
GenuOne provides technology solutions
to minimize the financial impact of the counterfeiting or gray market
diversion of a company's brand and products. Through a portfolio of
leading technologies across the physical world and the Internet,
GenuOne is able to develop and implement solutions that mitigate risk
at any point that may be exposed along the value chain, from materials
supply and production to distribution channels and the Internet.
GenuOne's technologies empower clients to minimize price, channel and
brand erosion, customer dissatisfaction, and loss in shareholder value.
Visit the GenuOne website at www.genuone.com.
About VenFin
VenFin Limited is a publicly listed, South African venture capital
company focused on technology related opportunities that have
identifiable intellectual property. VenFin is affiliated with Richemont
(www.richemont.com) and Remgro (www.remgro.com), and together the three
entities have a combined market capitalization of over $16 billion.
Visit the VenFin website at www.venfin.com.
VenFin is a registered trademark of VenFin, Ltd. All rights reserved.
GenuOne is a registered trademark of GenuOne, Inc. All rights reserved.
