TEXT-Israel's Pontis gets $19.65 mln in equity financing

(The following was issued by Israel's Pontis Ltd)

Feb 10 - Pontis Ltd, a developer of software marketing systems for Communication Service Providers (CSPs), today announced that it has secured a total of $19,650,000 in equity financing.

Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) led the funding round, which included investments from current shareholders Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners and Evergreen Venture Partners.

As a part of the investment, Dror Nahumi, partner at NVP, will join Pontis' board of directors.

The Pontis Marketing Delivery Platform (MDP) for mobile, TV and fixed line operators is the only real time fulfilment and execution system for personalized and contextual marketing offers across platforms and channels.

The Pontis solution has been proven to increase sales considerably, allowing Pontis to secure deals with a growing number of tier one operators including Vodafone, Telefonica and T-Mobile.

"Pontis proved the ability of its real time software to stimulate sales and dramatically increasing service providers ARPU. We are extremely impressed with the progress and success Pontis has experienced recently with tier one customers and partners supporting pre-paid, VOD and VAS services," said Dror Nahumi, NVP.

"Pontis has established itself as the leader in the emerging category of marketing execution solutions, which allow operators to deliver a contextual and personalized services buying experience to millions of customers worldwide."

"We are thrilled that Norwest Venture Partners, together with our current shareholders, Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners and Evergreen Venture Partners, has chosen to invest in Pontis," commented Michael Kerbis, Pontis CEO.

"Raising such a significant round of funding in this current economic climate from one of the world`s leading venture capital groups, is a testimonial for the Pontis team and the value that the Pontis solution provides to its customers. The funding will enable us to further expand our customer base and technology development across the mobile, TV and fixed line platforms."