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TO BUSINESS, NATIONAL, AND TECHNOLOGY EDITORS:
University of Michigan Wolverine Venture Fund Continues Track Record
of Success with Silverpop Exit
ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 11, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The
Wolverine Venture Fund, managed by students at the Samuel Zell &
Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the
University of Michigan Ross School of Business, today announced that
one of its early portfolio companies, Silverpop, is under agreement to
be acquired by IBM. Silverpop, a privately held software company based
in Atlanta, is a leading marketing automation and real-time
personalization technology.
As one of the Wolverine Venture Fund's first investments made in
August of 2000, the fund invested $200,000 participating in an early
financing round with a syndicate of other investors and is one of the
few dot com era investments to bear fruit. Student teams noted the
company's unique technology platform, experienced management team and
the market opportunity for personalized marketing automation solutions
as key drivers influencing their decision to invest.
This marks the Wolverine Venture Fund's fourth successful exit since
its formation. Students also directed investments in HandyLab. Upon
its acquisition by BD, the investment earned a six-fold, cash-on-cash
return delivering $2 million to the fund. Prior to that, medical
device company IntraLase became the first portfolio company to go
public returning more than $1 million in proceeds. The fund also
scored a win when portfolio company Versity.com was acquired in 1999.
"The Wolverine Venture Fund was developed to provide students with a
real-world educational experience, and over the years students have
participated in the full spectrum of the investment process, including
the excitement and reward that comes with a successful exit," said
Faculty Managing Director, Prof. Erik Gordon. "The fund and the
students who led the due diligence and investment process in Silverpop
had the foresight to invest in an innovative technology pioneer and in
a market opportunity that would grow to become the huge marketing
automation industry that it is today."
The $6.5 million Wolverine Venture Fund was the country's first
student-led venture fund and serves as a shining example of the
Institute's action-based approach to entrepreneurial education. The
Fund's student members seek, screen and negotiate investments and
develop significant experience in these areas - and in working with
VCs and entrepreneurs. Since its inception, the Wolverine Venture Fund
has invested in more than three dozen companies in a wide range of
industries including information technology, life sciences and
alternative energy.
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and
regulatory clearance and is expected to close in the second quarter of
2014.
About the Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial
Studies The Institute and its Center for Venture Capital and Private
Equity Finance bring together a potent mix of knowledge, experience
and opportunities from the front lines of entrepreneurship and
alternative investments. The student learning experience is further
enhanced through internships, entrepreneurial clubs and events that
serve to provide viable networks and engage the business community.
The School's three student-led investment funds, with more than $6.5M
under management, immerse students in the business assessment and
investment process. Founding Board Members include Samuel Zell,
Chairman of Equity Group Investments and Eugene Applebaum, Founder of
Arbor Drugs, Inc. For more information, visit the Institute at
www.zli.bus.umich.edu.
About the Stephen M. Ross School of Business The Stephen M. Ross
School of Business at the University of Michigan is a vibrant and
distinctive learning community grounded in the principle that business
can be an extraordinary vehicle for positive change in today's dynamic
global economy. The Ross School of Business mission is to develop
leaders who make a positive difference in the world. Through thought
and action, members of the Ross community drive change and innovation
that improves business and society.
Ross is consistently ranked among the world's leading business
schools. Academic degree programs include the MBA, Part-time MBA
(Evening and Weekend formats), Executive MBA, Global MBA, Master of
Accounting, Master of Supply Chain Management, Master of
Entrepreneurship, Master of Management, BBA and PhD. In addition, the
school delivers open-enrollment and custom executive education
programs targeting general management, leadership development and
strategic human resource management.
SOURCE Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial
Studies
-0- 04/11/2014
/CONTACT: Jean Serra Version 2.0 Communications 617-426-2222 jserra@v2comms.com, Mary Nickson, Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, 734-615-4424, mnickson@umich.edu
/Web Site: http://www.zli.bus.umich.edu
CO: Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies
ST: Michigan
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