Media Release
AMP Henderson Private Capital Invests Further $4.4 Million In Zeacom
Zeacom Expands In America
AMP Henderson Private Capital and Caltech Capital Partners have made their second investment in six months in customer
interaction software company Zeacom Group Limited.
The investment of $4.4 million will allow Zeacom to participate in a new distribution agreement with American
telecommunications giant Expanets Inc. Expanets is the largest PBX and IP-PBX reseller in the US, with around 17% of the
market, approximately 750,000 customers and sales of $3.2 billion per annum. The exclusive agreement should allow Zeacom
to achieve rapid penetration of the SME call centre market in the United States.
As part of the distribution agreement, Zeacom will be expanding its US based Sales and Technical resource by employing a
new team of senior people to train and support the Expanets sales force in the US.
Today’s investment announcement follows an initial $2.5 million invested by AMP Henderson Private Capital and Caltech in
July 2000 to assist the New Zealand based call centre and telephony software company to expand into the United States
and Asia.
“In just five years Zeacom has achieved majority market share of the small and medium sized call centers in Australasia.
The Expanets distribution agreement means Zeacom is now well placed to penetrate the American market with a partner of
substance. This agreement endorses our view that Zeacom and their products can compete globally,” said Deepak Gupta,
Director, AMP Henderson Private Capital.
“Basically we think Zeacom is a winner,” said Mr Gupta.
Zeacom develops and markets call-handling software that assists organisations improve their customer service using the
latest advances in computer telephony integration. Caltech Capital Partners has been working with Zeacom for two years
and believes the company’s tight focus on small to medium sized call centers has given it a competitive advantage.
“Zeacom has made quite remarkable progress for a young company in a large market. After maturing their Computer
Technology in the Australasian market, they now have a proven product for a part of the telephony market that is often
overlooked by the bigger players,” said Caltech’s Douglas Paul.
The new distribution agreement with Expanets is scheduled to commence in January 2001.
AMP Henderson Private Capital and Caltech have a successful joint venture relationship. Caltech is a specialist New
Zealand technology venture capital fund manager. AMP Henderson Private Capital is New Zealand’s largest private capital
investment manager and over the past two years has invested about $150 million in private capital investments in
smaller, strongly growing New Zealand companies.
Ends.