WildTangent Inks $13M For Online Gaming/Ad Network
By VentureWire Staff Reporters
8/16/2006

Eight-year-old online gaming company WildTangent Inc. has sealed a $13 million infusion to expand its gaming and advertising network and nabbed two prominent investors in the process.

Granite Global Ventures led the round and was joined by publicly traded communications company WPP Group PLC.

"We are big believers in the casual gaming market," said Granite Managing Director Hany Nada. "The strategic nature of the WPP investment on the advertising side really makes it a compelling company."

Existing shareholders Advanced Technology Ventures, Greylock Partners, Madrona Venture Group, Millennium Technology Ventures and IDG Ventures also contributed, said Dave Madden, executive vice president of sales, marketing and business development.

The round, classified as a Series 3 Preferred, follows a 2004 recapitalization of the company, and brings its total financing to roughly $80 million.

With WPP and Granite, WildTangent secures two strong partners. Menlo Park, Calif.-based Granite is a prominent investor in the space with stakes in mobile game publisher Glu Mobile Inc. and in Ageia Technologies Inc., a maker of physics-based processors for games.

London-based WPP, one of the world's largest communications conglomerates, has worked previously with WildTangent on campaigns for clients including Novartis AG and Unilever NV. WildTangent's investors are hoping the new investment will mean more deals with WPP's stable of advertising agencies.

"We are hoping the strategic investment will help grease the skids, if you will, toward those types of relationships," said Greylock Partner Bill Kaiser.

WildTangent's new financing comes amid a flurry of activity in the online gaming space. Viacom agreed last week to pay $200 million for Atom Entertainment Inc., whose Web properties include casual gaming site AddictingGames.com. And Microsoft Corp. earlier this summer said it would buy in-game advertising agency Massive Inc. for a rumored $200 million to $400 million.

Granite Global also inked solid returns earlier this summer when Viacom Inc. agreed to pay $102 million for Internet gaming company Xfire Inc.

"There is a huge opportunity and the more media companies that show interest in the space, the better it is for WildTangent," said Madrona Managing Director Greg Gottesman.

The company's flagship video game advertising network includes hundreds of online and downloadable games developed by WildTangent's own studios and by publishers such as the Walt Disney Internet Group. Consumers can play advertising-supported versions of the games for free, play on a per-game basis or buy ad-free games to play indefinitely.

www.wildtangent.com