October 19, 2007 by jack petrie.

Facebook-application developer, Buddy Media, recently leased office space at 1841 Broadway, NYC. Buddy Media was represented by CresaPartners’ Kristian Hansen in the transaction. Buddy Media is the developer of Acebucks, the primary virtual currency application for the Facebook social-networking platform.

Acebucks will soon launch an API which will enable other Facebook developers to integrate the virtual currency into their applications. Additionally, Acebucks can be used to purchase virtual and physical items through the soon-to-be-launched Facebook store.

Living in a Virtual World

Many online games and virtual reality platforms already use virtual goods and currencies for participants. Examples include Second Life, Utherverse and Club Penguin, a virtual world for children which was recently acquired by Disney.

About Buddy Media

Buddy Media recently received $1.5 million in angel funding from a group that includes Facebook investor and board member Peter Thiel, best-known for his role in founding PayPal. Buddy Media’s other investors include Mark Pincus, a serial entrepreneur who runs a Facebook poker application, Howard Lindzon of Biltmore Ventures, James Altucher and Robert Ehrenberg.

CresaPartners hosts Facebook Developer Summit

In June of this year, CresaPartners hosted the first-ever NYC Facebook Developers Summit, organized to promote the opening of the Facebook platform to third-party development. More than eighty people attended, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. During the summit Zuckerberg mentioned the company’s projections of 100 million unique users within the next year.

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October 9, 2007 by jack petrie.

CresaPartners Named Silver Sponsor

CresaPartners has been named a silver sponsor of the 2007 AeA Technology Capital Conference, October 15^th-16^th, 2007 at The Island Hotel in Newport Beach, California.

Access to Investment Capital

The AeA Technology Capital Conference is designed to provide privately held technology companies an efficient vehicle to access key investment professionals in one location. The two-day conference will feature presentations from 25 companies with 2006 revenues between $5 million and $75 million that are seeking funding for growth, product roadmap ramp, M&A activities, strategic partnerships and other transactions.

Private Equity Keynote Speakers

Robert Grady, a managing director at The Carlyle Group, and Patrick Haden, a partner at private equity firm Riordan, Lewis & Haden (RLH), will deliver the morning and luncheon keynote addresses. “Attendees will gain indispensable insight as the legendary Robert Grady and Patrick Haden share their perspectives on what investors evaluate when deciding whether to fund a company. We look forward to welcoming them both to this signature AeA event,” said Peter Craig, chairman of the AeA Orange County Council and chairman, Valicore Technologies.

Grady serves as fund head for Carlyle’s U.S. venture and growth capital group. In addition, he coordinates Carlyle’s global venture and growth capital effort of more than $3 billion under management in eight funds. Grady is a member of the board of directors for seven Carlyle portfolio companies: AuthenTec, The Health Central Network, Ingenio, Panasas, Secure Elements, Verari Systems and USBX. He is a former director and chairman (2006-2007) of the National Venture Capital Association.

Haden, a general partner at RLH since 1987, invests in high-growth middle-market companies and has guided many of the firm’s portfolio companies from rapid growth through the public market process. Haden sits on the board of directors of four companies ranging in revenue size from $100 million to $1.3 billion, including Tetra Tech, Inc. and Bradshaw International Inc.

Additional Sponsors

In addition to CresaPartners; Rutan & Tucker is the Title Sponsor, Comerica Bank, First Columbus Investments, Merrill Lynch and Silicon Valley Bank have stepped up as Silver Sponsors. Moss Adams LLP is sponsoring the luncheon, while Barney & Barney is the reception sponsor. WunderMarx|PR Inc. is the public relations sponsor. For more information, visit http://www.aeanet.org/capitalconference.

About AeA

AeA, the nation’s largest technology trade association with 2,500 member companies representing all segments of the high-tech industry, is dedicated solely to helping our members’ top line and bottom line. We do this in partnership with our small, medium, and large member companies by lobbying governments at the state, federal, and international levels, providing access to capital and business opportunities, and offering select business services and networking programs. For more information, please visit http://www.aeanet.org/.

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August 24, 2007 by jack petrie.

Altana Exits “Henri Bendel” Building

Altana AG, the German chemical and pharmaceutical firm, recently negotiated a termination of its New York City leasehold at 712 Fifth Avenue. Altana AG was represented by Kristian Hansen and Jack Petrie of CresaPartners.

The lease termination was in part driven by the historically hot Plaza District real estate market, as demonstrated by asking rentals at 712 Fifth Avenue which currently exceed $150 per rentable square foot (”RSF”) per annum. This boutique building, built in 1990, is home to many legendary fashion companies, including Christian Dior, Roberto Cavalli, Canali and the retail presence of Henri Bendel.

Boutique Building Caters to High-End Financial Services Firms

In 1991 when the building opened, asking rents were in the $50-65/rsf range. However, the current rising rents have been fueled by the property’s attraction to financial services firms, particularly private equity firms and hedge funds, which tend to be less sensitive to market rental economics.

Current tenants at 712 Fifth Avenue include hedge funds Elliott Associates, founded by billionaire Paul Singer and San Francisco-based TSG; investment firms Mannheim LLC, NCH Capital Advisors and Vector Group; CVC Capital Partners, a private equity firm; and real estate firms Buttonwood Real Estate, Sonnenblick-Goldman, Pierson Capital (construction finance), The Gale Company and Stockbridge Capital.

The first five stories of the property are landmarked, formerly housing the Rizzoli Building and a Coty perfumerie with windows designed by Rene Lalique. With the recent influx of financial services firms relocating into the property, already some of the fashion companies have begun to relocate to more affordable locations.

Strong 2007 Performance by Specialty Chemical Firm

Altana AG, meanwhile, has posted robust growth in the first six months of 2007, with sales (€705.7 million) up by over 7 percent and earnings (€125.2 million) up by over 22 percent, based on double-digit earnings increases in all four company divisions (BYK Additives & Instruments, Eckart Effect Pigments, Elantas Electrical Insulation and Actega Coatings & Sealants).

“In the first half-year of our new group structure as a pure specialty chemicals company we have demonstrated a very satisfying development and were able to increase sales and earnings substantially,“ stated Dr. Matthias Wolfgruber, CEO of Altana AG. “We have thus successfully lived up to the confidence placed in us by the capital markets and the general public after the new start of Altana and we are well positioned to continue our path of profitable growth into the future.“

The termination of the 712 leasehold will make a small but high profile reduction in occupancy costs in the near term for Altana AG.

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August 9, 2007 by jack petrie.

Ultra 16 Leases New Offices at 36 Cooper Square

Web Design Firm (”WDF”), Ultra 16, recently found new office space in the Village Voice Building located at 36 Cooper Square. Ultra 16 is an interactive agency that specializes in web design for the media/entertainment/fashion/beauty industries and has a client list that includes Redken, ABC, FHM, American Movie Channel, MTV, Ann Taylor and the Cleveland Browns.  Ultra 16 was represented by CresaPartners’ Kristian Hansen and Jack Petrie. 36 Cooper Square is owned by Hartz Mountain Industries, who’s principal owner, Leonard N. Stern, coincidentally once owned The Village Voice, as well.

Major Tenant: The Village Voice

36 Cooper Square is best known as the home to The Village Voice, who relocated after its inception in 1955 in Sheridan Square. The “Voice” was the originator of the free alternative weekly tabloid format focusing on politics, the arts and entertainment. The weekly has launched the careers of several underground cartoonists such as Jules Feiffer, Matt Groening, Lynda Barry, Stan Mack and Mark Alan Stamaty.

About the Neighborhood

Cooper Square is located where Third & Fourth Avenues merge into the Bowery. It is named after Peter Cooper, the founder of the Peter Cooper Institute, now The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (”Cooper Union”). Cooper Union is one of the few American institutions of higher learning to offer a full-tuition scholarship to all admitted students. Consequently, Cooper Union boasts one of the most selective acceptance rates (13%) in the U.S. and is tied for 6th place (with Columbia University and the U.S. Naval Academy) in U.S. News & World Report’s survey of America’s Best Colleges 2007. Famous students of Cooper Union include Thomas Edison, Milton Glaser and Daniel Libeskind.

Founded by a Famous New Yorker

Peter Cooper was a famous industrialist and inventor (think of Instant Gelatin, now commonly known as Jello) who once campaigned for the Presidency in 1876 as the Greenback Party nominee. Cooper designed and built America’s first steam railroad engine and made his fortune with a glue factory and an iron foundry. As President of the New York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Company, he was instrumental in supplying the first TransAtlantic cable.

The Great Hall

The 900-seat auditorium at Cooper Union has witnessed many historic speakers including Presidents Lincoln, Grant, Cleveland, Taft, Roosevelt, Wilson and Clinton. Abraham Lincoln’s address was to an audience of 1,500 (including Horace Greeley and William Cullen Bryant) at Cooper Institute in 1860 on behalf of the Young Men’s Republican Union. This speech contained the now famous expression “Right makes Might”.

And to bring it all back home to a technology focus, The Great Hall is currently the home of the NY Tech Meetup, a showcase for entrepreneurs and startups to the Venture Capital and Technology communities. http://newtech.meetup.com/1/

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June 13, 2007 by jack petrie.

MadeForChina Investment

Datran Media, a leading provider of performance-based email marketing solutions based in the U.S. (and a CresaPartners’ client), today announced its expansion into the Asia Pacific market following an investment in MadeForChina, a premier Chinese email and online marketing company. Though neither Datran Media nor MadeForChina are revealing financial terms of the investment, both parties anticipate a long-term strategic relationship and believe that their co-marketing and technology partnership will allow them to better serve large multinational advertisers and publishers. The move is part of Datran Media’s continued international expansion, which will provide the company with local alliances in burgeoning markets including Asia and Europe.

China Factoids

According to Internet World Stats, 56.5 percent of the world population or 3,712,527,624 people and 35.8 percent of global Internet users currently reside in Asia today. That equates to 398,709,065 individual users; 10.7 percent of the Asian population. 2000-2007 was an especially high growth period, with a 248.8 percent increase in online use. The online publisher also reveals that China leads Asia in the individual number of users by a large margin, boasting 137,000,000 online and an impressive 2000-2007 growth rate of 508.9 percent. To reach the growing market, advertisers are spending. In its “China Online Advertising Market,” Analysis International reported that China’s online advertising market reached 2.095 billion RMB (Renminbi [”people’s money”], or Yuan; roughly, $1=8 Yuan) in the first half of 2006. In 2007, research firm Market Avenue estimates that the pay email market in China alone will reach 153.2 million dollars. Across Asia, the market is similarly growing.

CEOs Describe the Partnership

“In response to the continued market growth in Asia, and the increasing demand for performance-based marketing solutions, we can leverage MadeForChina’s regional leadership along with our business intelligence,” stated Matt Keiser, Datran Media’s president. “Beijing, China was the logical choice for an investment and MadeForChina, a top caliber organization, is our ideal partner choice. Global growth is important to Datran Media and this deal reflects our commitment.”

MadeForChina co-founder and CEO Micah Truman echoes Keiser sentiments. “The combined value of Datran Media and MadeForChina will provide much greater opportunities for our collective customers across the world,” said Truman.

Historically, Datran Media and MadeForChina have both been recognized for their corporate and client leadership. Most recently, Datran Media was selected as one of the Top 100 Private Companies by Always On Media. MadeForChina has similarly garnered awards the Chinese Internet Advertising Contest, including Silver, Bronze and Excellence Awards for its work promoting L’Oreal, Nokia, DHL, Besta, Audi and Lenovo.

About MadeForChina

Founded in 1997, MadeForChina provides targeted advertising online to a multinational client base that includes companies such as L’Oreal, Ford, United Airlines and China Mobile. Combining unique technology, a far reaching affiliate network, expert project management and unrivaled content creation, MadeForChina empowers clients to achieve their marketing goals online, enabling them to build brand awareness, generate new customers and increase the return on investment for their advertising spend.

Headquartered in Beijing and with subsidiary offices in Shanghai, MadeForChina is China’s leading provider of permission email marketing and performance-based advertising.

About Datran Media

Founded in 2001, Datran Media is a leading performance-based marketing company with enabling technology that connects marketers directly to consumers through a comprehensive set of email marketing and digital media services. Datran Media powers EO, the first exchange online for cost-per-acquisition media, and the first media exchange to accommodate email marketers. EO provides the first mechanism for email publishers to monetize their unsold inventory. Datran Media also operates NetMargin, one of the premier online affiliate marketing companies; finally, Datran Media completes its suite of services with StormPost, a top-ranked email marketing and delivery platform and the first in its category to provide email ad inventory management. For more information, please visit www.datranmedia.com.

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April 26, 2007 by jack petrie.

Pizza International Subsidiary Adds Emmy Award-Winning Children’s Character in a Photo Personalized DVD Cartoon for Children

DELRAY BEACH, FL — (MARKET WIRE) — April 23, 2007 — Pizza International, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: PZZL) announces that its Look It’s Me on TV (www.lookitsmeontv.com) subsidiary has added the photo-personalized DVD cartoon, “Arthur’s New Friend,” winner of the iParenting Media Award Winner, to its growing list of personalized products for children. The PixFusion DVD maximizes the impact of photo personalization and allows any child to star on screen with this popular, Emmy Award-Winning character. 

Arthur could be called an over-achiever. He first appeared in 1983 in an animated book series written by Mark Brown. In the past eight years alone, Arthur has sold over 50 million books in the United States and made The New York Times Best Seller List. His popular television series, produced by WGBH Boston and Cookie Jar Entertainment, airs on PBS (www.pbskids.org) and is seen by children in more than 60 countries. Other “Arthur” awards include several Emmys and The George Foster Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting.

Personalized Entertainment for Children 

“Arthur’s New Friend” allows any child to star on screen with this famous character in an 18-minute cartoon that also features D.W., Buster and Arthur’s entire gang as they remember planning a special party for the child who appears on screen. Arthur interacts with and says the child’s name repeatedly giving the youngster the feeling of really being part of the story. The DVD retails for $39.95.

Tim Simpson, CEO of Pizza International, said “‘Look It’s Me on TV’ focuses its emphasis on unique products for children that both entertain and educate. Having ‘Arthur,’ one of the most recognizable and successful children’s characters for over two decades, brings another dimension to our list of personalized cartoons for children and enhances our reputation for offering carefully selected products that are of outstanding quality.”

About Pizza International, Inc.

Pizza International was formed to answer current and future Internet preferences of families with children, couples, single adults, seniors, students, executives and office personnel seeking quality products and services that are easily accessible. Based on the fact that change is escalating, the company focuses on innovations and necessities capable of keeping up with technology and consumer demands. The company mission is to acquire or create unique Internet enterprises that offer but are not limited to the expedited access to entertainment, food, financial services, travel, learning, news and targeted information, and innovative consumer products through e-commerce. They also will provide a community of services that make Internet communication easier and safer. The first two acquisitions include Pizza.Net (www.pizza.net), the world’s largest Internet pizza search engine, which soon will incorporate on-line ordering, and Look It’s Me on TV (www.lookitsmeontv.com), offering custom photo personalized DVD cartoons that put any child in the feature.

About Arthur©

All characters are copyright of Marc Brown. “Arthur©,” and “D.W.” and all of the Arthur characters are trademarks of Marc Brown. The Arthur web site was produced by WGBH, Boston. The Arthur television series is produced by WGBH Boston and Cookie Jar Entertainment, Inc; the web site by WGBH. Funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers. Corporate funding is provided by Chuck E. Cheese’s® and Dannon® Danimals®.

About PixFusion, LLC http://www.pixfusion.com

PixFusion was established in 2001 with offices in both New York City and Palm Beach, Florida, creates personalized branded video products and services using a patented technology. PixFusion, recently awarded an iParenting Media Award, has proprietary content agreements. The company has commercialized children’s video products through its Kideo http://www.kideo.com brand, for children ages one to seven. Kideo’s existing content is licensed from some of the most prominent and respected pre-school brands including Dora the Explorer and Arthur. PixFusion has also entered into several licenses of its proprietary intellectual property platform based on the strength of its long standing patent portfolio.  PixFusion is a CRESA Partners’ client for real estate advisory services.

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April 25, 2007 by jack petrie.

Datran Launches First Online Exchange for CPA Media Inventory

CresaPartners’ client, Datran Media, the leading provider of performance-based email marketing solutions, recently announced the launch of Datran Media EO, the first real-time market exchange that enables advertisers to bid for CPA email media distribution. EO (www.EO.com), which stands for Exchange Online, will be unveiled at ad:tech San Francisco, April 26 at noon in the “Business Presentations” area of the Moscone Center. Datran Media will also be providing ongoing demonstrations of EO at booth #6058.

Datran Media has created the most efficient marketplace for email, and will now empower marketers to bid for placement, calculate performance, and compete for media much like they do when managing paid search campaigns. Datran Media has built the most comprehensive email inventory channel in the world in the following three ways: by providing list management services; by enabling publishers to release remnant inventory through its email delivery platform StormPost which includes a proprietary inventory management solution; and through access to its affiliate network NetMargin (www.NetMargin.com). Also integrated with EO are industry-leading compliance technologies, including UnsubCentral (www.UnsubCentral.com) and LashBack (www.LashBack.com), which help ensure best practices across all campaigns.

Early & Positive Client Adoption

Datran Media provided its clients, IAC/InterActiveCorp. and ValueClick, with early access to EO. The initial response from both companies has been very enthusiastic. “Until now, marketers benefiting from efficiency in search and display have not had the same advantages across email. Publishers, like IAC, have faced similar challenges,” said IAC Advertising Solutions President, Richard Stalzer. “EO knocks down this barrier and is exactly what the market has been waiting for.”

“What makes EO attractive to us is the simplicity and clarity of the bidding process,” said Tanya Brown, Vice President of New Business Solutions for Webclients, a ValueClick company. “As we use EO to manipulate factors affecting our media distribution, we can see results before we make our buys. That is an extraordinary change from the past.”

Multiple Benefits to Marketers & Publishers

Datran Media’s EO benefits both marketers and publishers through the performance-based nature of the system. Unlike paid search, Datran Media offers marketers the purest forms of pay-for-performance marketing, including cost per acquisition, cost per lead and cost per click. Exchange Online is an exchange of media inventory only, where the marketer bids for their desired action (i.e. acquisition, lead or click). Additionally, publishers can host private auctions where media inventory is made available to select marketing partners.

“In the case of the agency and brands we represent, we believe this model (pay per performance) through email is a great complement to traditional mixed-media approaches to acquiring customers and prospects,” said David Baker, vice president of email solutions for Avenue A/Razorfish. “Our clients are continually challenging us to find new solutions for acquisition and EO is an enticing revenue generating option that can be managed seamlessly.”

In a March 2007 report entitled “Email Marketing Comes of Age,” Forrester Research recently found that “consumers who buy products advertised in emails spend 138% more online than their peers who don’t buy through email.”

“In the case of EO, the reason consumers spend more via email is because our system optimizes to the end transaction, which ensures relevance to the consumer,” said Matt Keiser, President of Datran Media. “When the consumer wins, everyone wins.” Datran Media’s Email Marketing Survey finds that 95% of marketers plan to increase their email marketing budgets in 2007.

Google enters Cost-Per-Acquisition Space

Consistent with Datran Media’s pricing model, Google recently announced its planned entry into the cost-per-acquisition arena. Ad networks Right Media and DoubleClick have similarly launched exchanges for display media, which further validates Datran Media’s auction-driven marketplace model.

“The most important forces in online media today are guaranteed ROI to the advertiser, together with relevance and benefits to the consumer,” said David Carlick, early co-founder of DoubleClick and a Datran Media board member. “The Datran Media EO exchange delivers both and is a great step forward in the mission to create the perfect matchmaker for advertiser offers and consumer interests.”

“The days of the real-time media exchange are here, and we are excited to unveil Datran Media’s EO at ad:tech San Francisco,” said Sean O’Neal, Chief Marketing Officer for Datran Media. “By bringing together hundreds of leading publishers with some of the best known marketing brands in the world we had already created one of the largest exchanges for online media. But by empowering our customers with this automated tool, through which they can glean actionable insight and become more efficient marketers, Datran Media customers can maximize their email ROI in ways never before imagined.”

Advertisers and publishers interested in learning more about EO and/or would like to attend the unveiling at ad:tech San Francisco, please send an email to marketing@datranmedia.com

About Datran Media

Founded in 2001, Datran Media (www.datranmedia.com) is a leading performance-based marketing company with enabling technology that connect marketers directly to consumers through a comprehensive set of email marketing and digital media services. Our expertise resides in customer acquisition, list management, email deployment and compliance solutions. Datran Media also powers NetMargin (www.netmargin.com), one of the premier online affiliate marketing companies.

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March 13, 2007 by jack petrie.