IPNet Solves $10M in Second Round

IPNet Solutions Inc. recently raised $10 million in its second round of venture financing. The Newport Beach, Calif.-based company provides e-commerce solutions for various enterprises, including AT&T, Duke University and Xerox.

NetWorth Partners, the Internet-focused affiliate of Mellon Ventures, led the round with a $5 million investment. Forrest Binkley & Brown and first-round investors Sigma Partners and InnoCal contributed the balance.

As part of the deal, Jeff Anderson, a principal at Mellon Ventures, has joined the company’s board of directors.

“We have been in the development phase for the past couple of years,” said Chief Financial Officer Rob Grice. “The funding will allow us to invest in sales and marketing and more product development to give our target market of large enterprises what they want.”

IPNet software allows users to merge their legacy systems with its Internet-based transaction channel. To date, 53 Fortune 5000 companies are using IPNet, which was incorporated in 1996. The company will likely raise one more round of financing from strategic investors later this year before it files for a public offering, Grice said.

“The category is fantastic,” Anderson said. “Allowing businesses to link their systems to the Internet electronically is the wave of the future.”

NetWorth is a $100 million fund that invests between $3 million and $10 million in Internet companies. The firm recently invested in music portal Tunes.com and Wine Access Inc., a portal that promotes the businesses of brick-and-mortar wine retailers.