AtoZ Companies, Inc, a high growth, 22-store online retailer leveraging advanced, analytics-based customer acquisition technologies, has closed a major capital raise led by VisionQuest Capital. SF provided advisory support and has been an investor in AtoZ since 2011.
Lonny Bernath, founder and President of AtoZ Companies, disclosed on Monday, April 16th that VisionQuest Capital acquired 20% of the company through a related entity and the option to purchase an additional 12.8% over the next 12 months for an undisclosed amount.
AtoZ Companies, located in Matthews, North Carolina, was founded in May 2010 and launched its first niche website in November of that year. Today, they manage 22 niche sites and are projected to reach $3M in revenue in 2012.
Bernath said that by selling a portion to VisionQuest Capital, AtoZ Companies will have expanded financial resources to grow the company. He plans to use the capital for hiring additional employees, expanding on-line stores, and increasing their marketing and brand efforts.
“We are very excited to have VisionQuest as a partner and investor in AtoZ,” said Mr. Bernath. “Their financial backing will provide the runway we need to grow into a sizable force in e-Commerce. Their talented team will also prove to be a great resource as we continue to expand.”
Online retail is the fastest growing segment of retail sales as more and more consumers have access to the internet and have grown comfortable buying online. With the growth of online retail, there is ample room for AtoZ Companies to grow within this $200 billion e-Commerce space.
In a statement, Stephen C. Peters, President & CEO of VisionQuest Capital, called “AtoZ Companies is an incredibly strong business in a fast and growing market. He continued by saying that “what impressed us the most is the speed in which AtoZ Companies has grown, their focus on their customers, and the quality of their operations.”
VisionQuest Capital disclosed that they had been in discussions with AtoZ Companies for about a year, but didn’t really get serious on deal structure until the beginning of 2012. Both owners share a connection to MIT’s Sloan School of Management, but what is most important is that they share the same vision for AtoZ.
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