AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WhaleShark Media (www.whalesharkmedia.com), the world’s leading marketplace for online coupons and deals, announced today that it has received $150 million in funding from J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) bringing the company’s total funding from investors to nearly $300 million. The capital will be used to support the company’s rapid organic growth through key strategic technology and personnel enhancements within the organization and additional growth from new acquisitions.
As a part of the investment round, IVP’s Jules Maltz will join WhaleShark’s board of directors.
“This latest round of funding is a testament to the value WhaleShark Media provides by connecting its bargain-savvy consumers and merchant partners in the world’s largest online coupon and deals marketplace. WhaleShark will facilitate sales in excess of $1.7 billion in 2011 and the business is growing nicely, as more consumers realize the benefits of using online coupons,” said Cotter Cunningham, CEO and founder of WhaleShark. “We are just getting started. This round of funding will help us expand our global footprint and enhance the services we offer our consumers and merchant partners."
“Furthermore, we are pleased to have Jules Maltz join our board. Jules is exactly the kind of person I want with us in the trenches. He appreciates the significance of our business model, his humor is contagious and his enthusiasm is what’s needed as we build the dominant marketplace in the world for online coupons and deals.”
Company Facts
- WhaleShark operates a global portfolio of brands, including RetailMeNot.com (www.retailmenot.com) and VoucherCodes.co.uk (www.vouchercodes.co.uk), the largest online coupon sites in the United States and Europe.
- WhaleShark’s properties experience more than 300 million site visits from consumers annually.
- Consumers save an average of nearly $20 on products and services every time they use one of the company’s more than half million active coupons, promotional codes and deals.
- WhaleShark’s marketplace model connects consumers seeking discounts with more than 130,000 merchants, stores and retailers.
- WhaleShark employs approximately 150 employees between its Austin, TX, headquarters and London, UK, offices.
“WhaleShark Media’s marketplace has tapped into a time-tested Internet model of moving offline behaviors, like clipping coupons out of your Sunday newspaper, online. We led this round due to WhaleShark’s global leadership position, scalable growth, profitability and skilled management,” said Robert Cousin, Managing Director, J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
“I am really excited to join the board of WhaleShark Media. Cotter has assembled a world-class team to build the leading online coupon destination providing much-needed savings for consumers and value to thousands of merchants,” said Jules Maltz, General Partner, IVP.
J.P. Morgan and IVP’s investment in WhaleShark Media follows funding by venture capital firms Austin Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Adams Street Partners, and Google Ventures.
For more biographical information on Jules Maltz, visit: http://www.ivp.com/team/general-partners/jules-maltz.
Stifel Nicolaus Weisel (www.stifel.com) was the exclusive financial advisor and agent to WhaleShark Media for this recent round of financing.
About J.P. Morgan Asset Management
J.P. Morgan Asset Management, with assets under supervision of approximately $1.8 trillion and assets under management of $1.3 trillion (as of 9/30/11), is a global leader in investment management. J.P. Morgan Asset Management's clients include institutions, retail investors and high-net worth individuals in every major market throughout the world. J.P. Morgan Asset Management offers global investment management in equities, fixed income, real estate, hedge funds, private equity and liquidity. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), the parent company of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.3 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
About Institutional Venture Partners (IVP)
With $3 billion of committed capital, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) is one of the premier later-stage venture capital and growth equity firms in the United States. The partnership is currently investing IVP XIII, a $750 million later-stage fund focused on investments in rapidly growing technology and media companies. Founded in 1980, IVP has invested in over 300 companies, 88 of which have gone public. IVP is one of the top performing firms in the industry and has a 30 year IRR of 43.2%. IVP specializes in venture growth investments, industry rollups, founder liquidity transactions, and select public market investments. Since its inception, IVP investments include such notable companies as ArcSight (HPQ), Aspect Communications, ComScore (SCOR), Concur Technologies (CNQR), Danger (MSFT), Digital River (DRIV), Dropbox, HomeAway (AWAY), Juniper Networks (JNPR), Kayak, LegalZoom, LivingSocial, MySQL (ORCL), Netflix (NFLX), Polycom (PLCM), Seagate (STX), Synchronoss (SNCR), Tivo (TIVO), Twitter, and Zynga. For more information, visit http://www.ivp.com or follow IVP on Twitter at @ivp.
About WhaleShark Media, Inc.
WhaleShark Media, Inc. is the world’s leading marketplace for online coupons and deals. The company’s websites connect consumers seeking savings with discounts from more than 130,000 merchants, stores, and retailers. WhaleShark Media welcomes more than 300 million visitors to shop its sites every year. The WhaleShark Media portfolio of coupon and deal websites includes www.RetailMeNot.com, the largest online coupon site in the United States; www.VoucherCodes.co.uk, the largest online coupon site in Europe; www.Deals.com; www.Deals2Buy.com; www.CheapStingyBargains.com; www.CouponSeven.com; www.CouponShare.com; and www.Gutschein-Codes.de. WhaleShark Media is a fast-growing, profitable company funded by venture capital firms Austin Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Adams Street Partners, Google Ventures, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and Institutional Venture Partners (IVP).
Make sure to “like” RetailMeNot.com on Facebook and follow the company via Twitter @retailmenot.