North Plains Inks Investment from Accel-KKR

North Plains LLC, a provider of digital asset management software, has closed an undisclosed amount of growth equity from Accel-KKR. Terms of the deal were not released. Accel-KKR was created in 2000 by Accel Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. to invest in technology assets and businesses that were outside of each firm’s core investment strategy.

PRESS RELEASE:
North Plains, LLC, the leading provider of Digital Asset Management, today announced that it has received a growth equity investment provided by Accel-KKR, a technology-focused private equity investment firm. The investment will be used to fund continued growth and expansion, and further capitalize the business to support its existing customer base. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Founded in 1994, North Plains provides scalable digital asset management software and services to corporate marketing groups within the Global 2000, midsize companies, and to publishers, media & entertainment companies, and advertising agencies. The company’s innovative and market leading TeleScope™ platform has enabled over 450 customers, including Fortune 10 companies, to more easily create, manage and rapidly deliver the rich media assets – images, video, audio, and graphics – needed to create multi-channel campaigns that stand out and reach today’s consumers.

“Today’s global marketing organizations are struggling to keep pace with the growing volume of rich media and new distribution channels. Since its inception, North Plains has focused exclusively on the needs of the digital media market, enabling companies of all sizes to do more, faster with their rich media,” said Hassan Kotob, Executive Chairman, North Plains. “With Accel-KKR we are now able to accelerate our vision to create a single, global company focused on rich media management and reshape the industry for years to come.”

In conjunction with the transaction, Mr. Kotob will assume the role of Executive Chairman and Arun Chandra will become Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Kotob will continue to actively work with the team at North Plains to ensure that the company has all the resources necessary to build on its leadership position, expand globally and continue to deliver world-class solutions to its customers.

Mr. Chandra brings 25 years of technology leadership experience both as a public company CEO and senior executive at one of the world’s largest technology companies. He was most recently CEO at SumTotal Systems, the market leader in learning management software, where he successfully guided the company’s global strategy and operations. He is also a senior veteran of Hewlett-Packard and during his 20 year tenure held several general management and senior marketing roles including leading global marketing for HP’s multi-billion-dollar Enterprise Business.

“I am excited about joining North Plains which is the undisputed leader in digital asset management and has an impressive list of blue chip customers. Hassan has built a great company and I am looking forward to working in close partnership with him as North Plains begins its next phase of growth,” said Arun Chandra.

“North Plains has demonstrated all the characteristics that Accel-KKR looks for when working with companies: they have proven market leadership, a 15-year history of technology innovation in an expanding market, a growing roster of brand-name customers, an industry-leading Digital Asset Management platform and a clear strategic vision that together combine to make North Plains an ideal investment for Accel-KKR,” said Rob Palumbo, Managing Director, Accel-KKR.

About Accel-KKR
Accel-KKR is a technology-focused private equity firm with over $1 billion in assets under management. The firm invests primarily in software and IT-enabled businesses well positioned for top-line and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR’s investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value through the significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR has a particular focus on buyouts and recapitalizations of family-owned or closely-held private companies, going-private transactions and divisional buyouts of larger companies. For more information, please visit www.accel-kkr.com.

About North Plains Systems, Inc.
North Plains is the world leader in managing the digital assets and publishing processes that create the vast majority of digital and print communications. By providing software and services that enable companies to shift from content management to digital supply chains and multi-channel publishing processes, North Plains helps companies manage their brand, expand their rich media communications across multiple channels, and deliver higher quality content faster, at lower cost. For more information visit www.northplains.com.