Swiss-based global private equity platform DealMarket to enter collaboration agreement with IntraLinks

January 19, 2012 (PRLEAP.COM) Business News
Zurich, January 19, 2012 - The global private equity platform DealMarket announced today the signing of a collaboration agreement with IntraLinks, a world leading virtual data room provider. This step represents a significant enlargement of the service offering of the online platform which was launched in March of this year and was well received in the industry. In the first nine months of operation, DealMarket has been able to attract over 12'500 revolving users from 145 different countries.

"In an effort to further enrich the platform's content and offering to its users, DealMarket is expanding its mission and strategy to become the one stop shop for private equity practitioners, providing a wide range of information and software services on an open-platform basis", said Céline Fillistorf, CEO of DealMarket.

Against this backdrop, the first milestone of the new strategy has been set now with the signing of the collaboration agreement with IntraLinks, a leading provider of data room services catering to many of the largest and most reputable financial firms. IntraLinks is a listed company based in the USA and has over 1 million customers across 34 different industries.

Accessing and managing additional data in secure virtual data room

As of 2012, DealMarket users who found a deal on the platform will not only see a teaser information and up to 3 documents, but also be granted access to additional data/information stored in a secure virtual data room by deal providers as a result of the IntraLinks cooperation. Thus, a deal provider will not only find investors on DealMarket but also be able to use their data room for the upcoming due diligence process in a simple and user friendly way. In practice, this means that he can for example store and attach an unlimited amount of deal-related data in this secure, state-of-the-art data room environment.

DealMarket is proud to have been selected by IntraLinks, the world's first virtual deal room to support the M&A due diligence process, to penetrate the online private equity community. This has only been possible thanks to the fast growth and successful acquisition of key reference clients internationally. "Collaborations with global networks of family offices or service providers, like Geneva Group International (GGI) have helped DealMarket to build-up a recognized brand in a short time", concludes Céline.

"DealMarket was launched in March 2011 with the aim of making the complex world of private equity simpler, more efficient, more liquid and cost-effective for all market participants", said Alex Vukajlovid, founder of DealMarket. Initially, DealMarket's primary goal was to connect private equity buyers, sellers and advisors on one global online platform that was simple to use and free of conflicts of interest (similar to the real-estate portals). In the meantime, DealMarket also launched the "MyOffice" IT software solution aimed at standardizing the sourcing, storing and sharing of the private equity deal flow.

Broad-based demand for private equity services

In its first 9 months of operation, DealMarket has attracted global recognition with over 12'500 revolving users originating from 145 different countries. There are some 1'400 postings on the platform, half of which are private equity deals (direct investments, private equity funds, secondary offerings), and half of which are advertisements of various service providers (such as specialized lawyers, consultants, accountants, due diligence experts, and similar). The main market is still Europe, followed by the USA. The team of 8 staff today (up from 2.5 at the beginning of the year) has managed to acquire over 150 reputable companies to use the platform and its deal flow management tool 'MyOffice' actively.

About DealMarket

DealMarket's online private equity platform aims to make the complex world of private equity investment simpler and more transparent. It brings efficiency and value to the business of connecting buyers, sellers and advisors. Investors can browse through hundreds of current and historic private equity deals (primary or secondary direct deals and private equity funds) or contacts for free. Sellers can advertise deals to a global audience of potential investors for a flat monthly fee similar to that of real-estate portals. Advisors and other service providers also have a cost effective platform to promote their expertise.

The MyOffice solution brings order and standardisation to the way investors source, store, manage and share deal flow. Powered by cloud-based technology, it is considerably more efficient than using e-mail and Excel spread sheets. MyOffice is a great way for investors to form private professional networks, making it easier to share ideas, opinions and deals. For more information visit www.dealmarket.com.

Team behind DealMarket

Alex Vukajlovic is the Chairman and founder of DealMarket. He is also the CEO of Zurich-based asset management company Cape Capital which he set up in 2002. Cape Capital is an independent wealth management firm, employing 14 staff, with approximately USD2bn of assets under management, investing across all major asset classes and geographies. A Swiss national, Alex was born in Germany and raised in Serbia. Before settling in Switzerland in 2000 he studied and worked in the US, London and Russia. Alex has two kids and lives with his family in Zurich, Switzerland.

Céline Fillistorf is co-founder and CEO of DealMarket. She originally is from the French part of Switzerland and grew up in Zurich. She graduated from The University of St. Gallen in 1999 with a degree in Business Administration and started her career by working for 5 years in management consulting at The Boston Consulting Group and A.T. Kearney. Following 2 years in sales development at UBS she set up her own consulting business Fillistorf Consulting in 2007 working with clients in the financial sector. Céline has two boys and lives with her family in Zurich, Switzerland.

About IntraLinks

IntraLinks is a leading global provider of software-as-a-service solutions for securely managing content, exchanging critical business information and collaborating within and among organizations. Founded in 1996 and creating the world's first virtual deal room to support the M&A due diligence process in 2002 they became a public company in 2010. Today more than 1 million professionals in industries including financial services, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, consumer, energy, industrial, legal, insurance, real estate and technology, as well as government agencies, have utilized IntraLinks' easy-to-use, cloud-based solutions. IntraLinks users can accelerate information-intensive business processes and workflows, meet regulatory and risk management requirements and collaborate with customers, partners and counterparties in a secure, auditable and compliant manner. Professionals at more than 800 of the Fortune 1000 companies have used IntraLinks' solutions. For more information, visit www.intralinks.com.