BIA Digital Partners Invests in EyeWonder

CHANTILLY, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BIA Digital Partners, a private investment firm focusing on mid-to-later stage companies, announced today that it has made a mezzanine investment into Atlanta-based EyeWonder, Inc. The investment will allow EyeWonder to accelerate its already rapid growth by further extending its offerings in the in-stream, wireless and emerging digital advertising platforms that are beginning to gain traction and also to capitalize on expansion opportunities here in the U.S. and abroad. In conjunction with the investment, Scott Chappell, a BIA principal, has been appointed to EyeWonder’s board of directors as an observer.

“EyeWonder exhibits many of the characteristics we look for in an attractive portfolio company, including rapid growth in revenues and profits, a growing and dynamic industry, strong and motivated management, and increasing customer demand for products and services”

Founded in 1999, EyeWonder is recognized as an industry-leading provider of comprehensive and innovative digital video and rich media advertising solutions. Through powerful technologies and a deep service platform, EyeWonder helps the world’s leading advertisers, agencies and publishers create, display and track video and rich media display advertising in a streamlined and efficient environment. EyeWonder boasts an impressive client list and has won numerous industry awards and accolades for its creative tools and cutting edge video and rich media ads.

EyeWonder CEO, John Vincent, a co-founder of the company and a veteran of the rich media industry, stated, “EyeWonder is dedicated to continued expansion, and enhancing its service and solution capabilities in order to keep pace with the rapid growth in demand coming from ongoing and new clients here in the U.S. and globally. During the past year, our ad volume and profits have increased exponentially. We also have nearly tripled the number of professionals on our team, primarily in service and R&D roles, in order to make leveraging the power of rich media as simple as possible and to maintain the high level of service and expertise that major publishers, brand advertisers and their agencies require to successfully execute complex digital advertising campaigns.”

Vincent further stated, “This additional capital will enable us to more quickly capitalize on opportunities that have significant strategic value and potential, including expanding our geographic footprint here in the U.S. and globally, and further accelerating the delivery of our products and services to the in-stream, wireless and emerging digital advertising platforms that are poised to fulfill the potential that online display advertising has achieved. We are very excited about this new financial partnership with BIA, especially due to BIA’s substantial knowledge and experience in the broader media and communications landscape, and also their ability to provide significant amounts of additional capital for promising acquisition opportunities.”

“EyeWonder exhibits many of the characteristics we look for in an attractive portfolio company, including rapid growth in revenues and profits, a growing and dynamic industry, strong and motivated management, and increasing customer demand for products and services,” stated Scott Chappell. “The entire EyeWonder team has worked tirelessly to create a more efficient and effective rich media work-flow environment for its customers. The company is at the forefront of some very exciting industry trends and well positioned for continued future success.”

BIA Digital Partners has provided capital to the media, entertainment, telecommunications, and business and information services sectors for over five years and is one of the most active mezzanine investors with an exclusive sector focus.

“BIA Digital Partners and its affiliates have been involved in the media and communications sectors for nearly 30 years. We have witnessed the growth and consolidation of traditional media businesses and are now witnessing a period of unprecedented growth for the online and digital media industry,” commented Damien Dovi, Vice President of BIA Digital Partners. “The growth in online advertising and interactive marketing is being driven primarily by increased broadband penetration and advertiser demand for measurable media, and has substantially validated the business models of many companies including online publishers, interactive agencies, third-party networks, lead generation companies and related business services. BIA is focused on being a stable and knowledgeable source of capital for such companies.”

Additional information on BIA Digital Partners is available by contacting Scott Chappell or Damien Dovi at (703) 227-9600. Further information is also available at www.biadigitalpartners.com.

About EyeWonder, Inc.

EyeWonder, Inc., is rich media and digital video’s fastest-growing innovator, empowering brands and advertisers to leverage complete interactive creative capabilities and to benefit from richer results. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company’s pioneering technology enables platform-agnostic ad units that allow advertisers to focus their time and energy on producing the strongest interactive ad campaigns while eliminating inefficiencies that limit creativity and workflow processes. Moreover, EyeWonder delivers. A 2006 Dynamic Logic study found that the EyeWonder’s campaigns generate a 65% increase in aided brand awareness and a 34% increase in message association as it leads the industry in three out of four core brand metrics.

EyeWonder services the world’s top agencies and brands, and its rich media and video ad products are accepted by more than a thousand online publishers, including Yahoo!, AOL, and MSN. For more information on Richer Media and Richer Results, please visit http://www.eyewonder.com.

About BIA Digital Partners

BIA Digital Partners is a private investment firm managing over $225 million. Financing is available for acquisitions, organic growth, recapitalizations and leveraged/management buyouts among other purposes. BIA Digital Partners maintains a focus on mid-to-later stage companies operating in the traditional and online media, entertainment, telecommunications, information and business and consumer services industries. Investments generally range from $4 to $12 million and are in the form of subordinated debt with warrants or preferred equity. For more information, go to www.biadigitalpartners.com.

BIA Digital Partners has two affiliates, BIA Capital Strategies, LLC and BIA Financial Network (BIAfn). BIA Capital Strategies provides merger and acquisition advice and arranges equity and debt funding. BIAfn, the nation's leading communications appraisal and valuation firm for more than two decades, assists with valuations, research and analysis, strategic consulting, and financial and operational consulting. For more information, visit www.biacapital.com and www.bia.com.