Irvine online advertising startup Specific Media Inc. said Thursday it landed about $100 million in funding–easily the biggest financing deal in Orange County this year.
Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity fund based in San Francisco, is set to provide the money in $50 million installments, according to reports.
The money is set to be used for acquisitions, according to Specific Media.
Specific Media runs a network that places ads on Web sites, allowing advertisers to target their online campaigns.
The company can go after consumers based on demographics, location and Web sites visited, among other criteria.
Specific Media counts major TV networks and Fortune 500 companies as its customers.
The company was founded eight years ago by brothers Tim, Chris and Russell Vanderhook.
Tim Vanderhook, then just 19, now is chief executive. Chris Vanderhook is chief operating officer. Russell Vanderhook is senior vice president.
The company got its first round of funding in June 2006. It nabbed $10 million from Enterprise Partners Venture Capital and Shepherd Ventures.
The financing deal is one of OC’s biggest ever.
Back in 2005, Aliso Viejo’s Amp’d Mobile Inc., which markets music and videos on cell phones for the younger set, raised about $60 million in funding before settling in Los Angeles and later shutting down.
“This is an incredible milestone for Specific Media and for Orange County private equity transactions,” said Michael Flynn, head of the corporate group at Newport Beach law firm Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, which worked on the deal.
