James M. Gould of The Walnut Group Joins Board of Directors NEW YORK, August 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Adspace Networks, Inc., owner of thelargest in-mall digital video advertising network in the country, hascompleted a $20 million series E financing round and added James M. Gould,managing general partner of The Walnut Group and a director of Build-a-BearWorkshop, to the board of directors. The Walnut Group's co-investment partner is The Hauser, Davis & TysoeGroup (HDT). One of its principals, Ronald W. Tysoe, former vice chairmanof Federated Department Stores, will serve as a board observer. In addition to The Walnut Group, a private equity fund based inCincinnati and New York City, and HDT, the remainder of the funding camefrom Adspace's existing family of investors, including AIG (managed byCartesian Capital), Steelpoint Capital, DCM and GIC investments. Adspaceexpects to use the funds to meet the needs of the rapidly expandingnational footprint of its digital advertising network. "After very positive feedback from our mall and REIT partners in thefirst half of the year, Adspace Networks is well on track to meet the goalof being in 100 malls by the fourth quarter of 2007," said Dominick Porco,chairman and CEO, Adspace Networks. "The addition of The Walnut Group andHDT, together with the encouragement and continued investment from ourexisting partners are further proof of our success. We also haveadvertisers and retailers telling us that we are moving the needle. Thosecomponents, combined with strong financial backing, are positive indicatorsof how we are poised to leverage the healthy growth expected in theout-of-home marketplace." This news follows the recent release of a Nielsen efficacy study thatshows that nearly half of mall shoppers (47 percent) viewed contentprovided on the Adspace Mall Network's Smart Screens and, of those viewers,an average of 34 percent recalled each ad on the network. The Walnut Group's Mr. Gould has more than 25 years of experience indevelopment, marketing and negotiation in the areas of investment capital,banking, real estate, sports and entertainment. Gould is a Director ofBuild- A-Bear Workshop and has produced, distributed, and packaged numerousmotion pictures, television and entertainment events. Mr. Gould has been afrequent investor, through his partnership with Walnut's Chairman FredericH. Mayerson, and has co-produced several award winning Broadway musicalsincluding "Smokey Joe's Cafe," "Hairspray", and "Jersey Boys." "One of The Walnut Group's core criteria is to invest in companies withoutstanding management teams, a proven track record and a thoroughunderstanding of the business," said Mr. Gould. "The senior management hereat Adspace, led by Dominic Porco, Jeff Jensen and Bill Ketcham, have turnedAdspace Networks into a focused leader in out-of-home media by combiningtheir retail savvy with marketing and media expertise." "We are thrilled to have Ron Tysoe as a new investor in Adspace throughHDT. His counsel on retail, real estate and financial matters will beinvaluable," said L. Jeff Jensen, president, Adspace Networks. "Inaddition, The Walnut Group's past investments in company's likeBuild-A-Bear demonstrate that they are a forward-looking company with theirfinger on the pulse of the consumer audience." About AIG Investments AIG Investments is a global leader in asset management with extensivecapabilities in equity, fixed income, hedge, private equity and real estateinvestments. Member companies of AIG Investments manage more than US $685billion in assets and employ over 2,000 professionals in 44 offices aroundthe world as of March 31, 2007. AIG Investments is the asset management armof American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:
Adspace Networks Secures $20M Financing Round; Adds The Walnut Group As New Investor
August 08, 2007, 1:10 a.m. EDT 6 Min Read
