Goldman lead finances $62 million for digital marketer iCrossing

01 August 2007

Goldman, Sachs & Co has become one of the two largest stakeholders in the profitable digital marketing agency iCrossing Inc. It led a new $62 million round of funding — nominally a Series E round — which builds on the company''s $48 million existing capital and raises total private investment in iCrossing to $110 million.

Many existing investors joined in the new round, including Westport, Connecticut-based Oak Investment Partners, as well as RRE Ventures and StarVest Partners LP, both of New York. The company had announced $15 million in Series D funding last summer, but later extended that round to $30 million.

By formalising its relationship with Goldman, iCrossing gets an investor who can provide advice on anything, from acquisitions to a public offering. The company plans to explore various transactional options.

Although he confirmed that the company''s value has increased since the Series D round last year, CEO Jeff Herzog refused to put a figure on its present valuation.

An Advertising Age report on 30 April estimated the company''s 2006 revenue at $63 million, up 114 per cent from the previous year. The current round of funding will be used both for acquisitions and organic growth,

iCrossing began as a search marketing firm in 1998, and has grown into one of the largest companies in the space, after evolving into a digital marketing agency that competes with the likes of Publicis'' Digitas and aQuantive''s Ave A/Razorfish, according to Herzog. iCrossing has been on a buying spree over the past year, acquiring San Francisco-based paid search agency NewGate Internet, UK-based social media marketing company Spannerworks, and aggregation technology developer Sharp Analytics.