CR2, the Dublin-based provider of Internet banking and channel management solutions, is seeking $8 million (€9.2 million) to fund expansion and research and development.
The company has appointed Goodbody Stockbrokers to organise the funding round, which is due to be closed within a month. On completion it would value the company at close to $100 million.
The additional funding would be used to open international sales offices, hire an additional 100 staff within a year and refine and develop its product range.
Over the next year the company will work to re-engineer its Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) and Point of Sales (POS) customer channel products and integrate them with its Bankworld Channel Manager system.
This system manages different customer channels (such as ATM and POS) and integrates them into a bank's back office host systems. CR2 is working to develop several new customer channels for banks, such as Internet Kiosks, digital television and mobile banking.
The company, which employs 125 people in Dublin and 75 in London, is fitting out a new 28,000 square feet headquarters in Park West, Co Dublin. This should be ready for business next month and will have capacity for 250 staff.
CR2 will open an office in Miami from which it will target the South American market. It will also open an office in Singapore to extend the company's reach into Asia.
Mr Ron Downey, joint chief executive of CR2, said the company would expand its international division everywhere apart from the United States over the next year.
"Historically, European software houses don't do well in the US," he said. "There is also greater competition in this marketplace."
The company sells its solutions to more than 100 customers in 70 countries including ANZ, Barclays, Standard Chartered Bank and Standard Bank of South Africa.
The vast majority of these customers were added in June when CR2 acquired the London-based software house Interlink. This acquisition is likely to substantially boost revenues at the company, which are forecast to reach $20 million for the first six months of 2001.
Mr Downey said the integration of Interlink into CR2 was working well and the company was working on a branding strategy for its products.
CR2 was "always looking" at potential acquisition opportunities and there was no shortage of funding if the right company came along, he said.
The new financing follows an $8 million fund raising earlier this year which the company used to back its acquisition of Interlink. To date, CR2 has raised $20.6 million since it was co-founded by Mr Cian Kinsella and Mr Ron Downey in 1997.
A number of existing shareholders such as ACT Venture Capital, NIB Capital and the Belgian investment group GIMV have committed to invest $3 million in the new round.
CR2 is seeking the remaining $5 million from new investors and is offering them up to 9.6 per cent of equity in return.
