Sportgenic™ Closes $10 Million Series B Funding

Business Wire, Sept 8, 2008

New Financing Round for Leading Sports Advertising Network Led by Adams Street Partners, with Participation from All Existing Series A Preferred Members

SAN FRANCISCO -- Sportgenic[TM], a digital media and technology company dedicated to connecting marketers with sport enthusiasts, today announced the closing of a $10 million Series B financing round led by Adams Street Partners. Alsop Louie Partners, KPG Ventures, and Greycroft Partners, all of which participated in Sportgenic's Series A funding, also invested in the new round. Sportgenic will use the new funding to invest in its ad network technology and expand its sales force to meet increased demand from sports marketers and publishers.

Since launching in September 2005, Sportgenic (formerly Active Athlete Media) has grown into one of the world's largest sports advertising networks. The company currently ranks second -- only behind Yahoo! Sports -- among top sports entities with the greatest "potential reach," according to comScore, a leading source of digital marketing intelligence. (comScore Media Metrix Sports category media sets with duplication, July 2008.) Sportgenic currently has more than 350 publisher sites in its network and continues to attract interest from major brands such as AT&T, Mountain Dew, Nike, Saab, Saturn, Secret, and Toyota.

"We've made great strides in the past three years and the market has really embraced us," said Robert Tas, CEO of Sportgenic. "Advertisers now recognize that Sportgenic is a 'must buy' when it comes to sports media and marketing, right up there with all other big name sports sites."

"Sportgenic has everything we look for in a strong Series B investment within the media and marketing category, including deep industry expertise, a well-established, large network of publishers, and a growing portfolio of major brand advertisers," said Dave Welsh, partner at Adams Street Partners. "The company is a clear leader in this space, with its proven ability to deliver premium campaigns, and sports marketers have taken notice. We are very happy with Sportgenic's growth to date, which is why we are enthusiastic to lead its Series B investment."

Welsh is one of two key additions to Sportgenic's board of directors. The company has also added Rich Prenderville, global head of brand marketing for Reebok International, who oversees communications, media, digital marketing, e-commerce, and various other brand marketing functions.

To further bolster its sales force, Sportgenic also has hired Kevin M. Granath as senior vice president of sales. Granath will help cultivate relationships between the company's national and international advertiser base and its stable of more than 350 participatory sports sites. Granath, who most recently served as vice president of business development for IPG's Ansible Mobile, has devoted the majority of his career to sports media. Directly prior to IPG, he worked as senior director for ESPN's international advertising sales, managing global advertising sales for ESPN's international TV, online and wireless assets, with 26 networks in 190 countries.

About Sportgenic

Sportgenic[TM] represents the buying power of millions of sport enthusiasts looking for people, products and information online. The company represents a network of highly engaging medium and long tail websites, including specialty sites, training resources, social networks, and enthusiast content sites. Sportgenic connects marketers with engaged and passionate consumers via proprietary technology, ad targeting and deep domain expertise.

Sportgenic has consistently been listed amongst the top 5 sports entities on comScore since May 2008. (comScore Media Metrix Sports category media sets with duplication.) The company is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

For more information call 415-983-2301 or visit www.sportgenic.com.

Sportgenic is a registered trademark of Sportgenic, Inc.