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Schoolwires Secures $12 Million in Growth-Stage Investment, Led by Kennet Partners

Posted on: Thursday, 15 January 2009, 07:00 CST

Capital will Accelerate Growth and Product Innovation; Eric Filipek Joins Board

STATE COLLEGE, Penn., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Schoolwires, one of the nation's leading providers of strategic website and community management solutions for building stronger school communities, more effective schools and greater student success, announced today that it has secured $12 million in growth-stage funding. Global growth equity firm Kennet Partners led the financing, which is the company's first institutional round. Eric Filipek, Principal at Kennet has joined the Board of Directors.

The financing will enable Schoolwires to leverage its leadership position, intensify growth activities and accelerate plans to deliver powerful new solutions forged by changing K-12 market demands. It will also make Schoolwires the strongest and safest choice for strategic website and community management solutions offered to K-12 districts throughout the United States.

"We firmly believe that strategic online solutions will play a major role in transforming education," said Edward S. Marflak, founder and CEO of Schoolwires. "We are leading the market in helping students and school districts to achieve more. In the process, we are blessed and gratified to be building one of America's fastest-growing and most respected education technology companies."

"A rare combination of sustained, rapid sales growth coupled with extremely strong customer satisfaction initially attracted Kennet to Schoolwires," said Eric Filipek. "We were impressed by the company's talent, commitment and sustainable track record. We believe that the company has an exponential growth opportunity as it scales to address a $1 billion+ market. Kennet believes that Schoolwires is well positioned to play a role in addressing one of our nation's top priorities: Education. Under President-elect Barack Obama's education agenda, we anticipate an intensifying trend taking shape as private sector investment supports the build-out of this nation's educational infrastructure."

Schoolwires will also expand customer success programs designed to help them reach their full potential.

Schoolwires Delivers Strategic Solutions to Address Changing K-12 Demands

The new demands of accountability, shifting demographics, ensuring student safety, enfranchising parents as part of the educational process, bringing together all community constituents, managing budget shortfalls and, most importantly, driving academic success are intensifying the pressure on America's schools and their administrators.

By listening to the needs of the K-12 education market, Schoolwires has developed powerful solutions to address the strategic challenges facing our nation's school districts. The company takes great pride in providing new innovations that help its customers better inform, engage and energize their K-12 communities.

"With an impressive track record of investing in respected and strategically-positioned companies experiencing significant growth, Schoolwires is excited to partner with Kennet," said Marflak. "The management team is extremely insightful and delivers a level of expertise in growing businesses like ours that will be a major benefit as we accelerate expansion and deliver powerful market innovations."

About Schoolwires, Inc.

Schoolwires Inc. (www.schoolwires.com) is headquartered in Pennsylvania, USA.

Schoolwires provides strategic online communication, community-management and productivity solutions to the K-12 education market. The company's core product is Schoolwires CentricityTM, which brings together robust and flexible website management, community management and web 2.0/social network capabilities in a single, user-centric solution. Schoolwires also delivers Schoolwires SynergyTM, a digital file sharing solution, Schoolwires AssistTM, a service request solution, and Schoolwires Share(TM), an exclusive online client community and support center.

Schoolwires is recognized in the Inc. 500 List as one of the fastest growing private companies in the nation. The company's on-demand solutions are deployed at nearly 4,000 schools serving an estimated four million students, parents, teachers and administrators throughout North America.

About Kennet

Kennet is a leading international private equity firm that invests in growth companies in North America and Europe. Kennet invests in technology and technology-enabled business services, offering expansion capital to businesses that want to accelerate growth and build exceptional shareholder value in partnership with an experienced investor. Kennet has funds under management in excess of $500 million and acts as an advisor to Kennet II and Kennet III.

For more information visit www.kennet.com.

SOURCE Schoolwires, Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

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