Elevation Hears a Yelp
PE firm invests $25M in the online directory and plans to boost its total investment to $100M
January 28, 2010
Elevation Partners, the California-based private-equity firm, has invested $25 million in online directory provider Yelp and plans to buy a stake for up to $100 million.
The size of the stake Elevation will get was not specified and calls seeking comment were not returned by press time.
Marc Bodnick, Elevation co-founder and managing director, said the deal will help the company scale up as the online business looks to capitalize on “a massive business opportunity ahead.” Bodnick will join Yelp’s board as part of the deal.
The company will use its investment to deepen its position in the U.S. and expand in Canada and Western Europe, although the company did not specifically state M&A as an option.
Late last year, Yelp walked away from an offer to be acquired by Internet advertising titan Google for more than $500 million, media outlets reported.
Prior investors in Yelp include Bessemer Venture Partners, Benchmark Capital and DAG Ventures; prior to the Elevation investment, Yelp had accepted more than $30 million in start-up capital.
The most recent Elevation deal was its investment in MarketShare Partners, a marketing analytics firm. Elevation has also invested in Forbes publications, Palm Inc. and SDI Media.
More recently, Elevation has made personnel moves. Earlier this month, Elevation hired former Apple software pro Avie Tevanian as a managing director; last November, the PE firm hired former eBay exec Rajiv Dutta.
For more information on related topics, visit the following:
