Engage3, a US-based consumer intelligence provider backed by media companies Swift Communications and McClatchy Company, raised $12m in series B funding yesterday.
Kayne NewRoad Ventures Fund II, a joint venture formed by alternative investment firm Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors and growth equity firm NewRoad Capital Partners, led the round, which included Pereg Ventures, Moneta Ventures and private investor Dale Carlsen.
Founded in 2008, Engage3 has created a software platform called MissionControl that combines a pricing database containing billions of pricing updates each year with predictive analytics to give consumer packaged goods companies detailed information on pricing.
Engage3 will use the capital to increase headcount as it looks to further develop its retail pricing platform, which is set to be strengthened with business-to-business personalisation tools.
The company raised $625,000 in equity funding in 2009, according to a securities filing, before Swift and McClatchy each invested undisclosed amounts at different times in 2014.
Moneta Ventures invested $1.5m in Engage3 in May 2016 as part of a round that was set to close at $5m, the Sacramento Business Journal reported, though it did not reveal whether the round was subsequently closed.