Hootsuite gets another $60 million in financing, buys Zeetl
The service for helping people and companies manage their social media profiles gets more cash while also announcing a new acquisition.
Hootsuite isn't making money, but it's not going away anytime soon either.
The social media technology company said it has raised $60 million in financing, giving it more resources to fund its growth amid the continued frothy market for Internet companies.
The Vancouver-based company, which makes tools that help companies write, monitor and react to postings on various social networks, said it raised the money mostly from existing investors such as Accel Partners, as well as an asset manager in Boston, whom Hootsuite declined to name.
The move helps fill Hootsuite's coffers and support expansion as more companies are using social media. Facebook in August capped a tour around the country in which it tried to educate small and medium-size businesses on the benefits of using its network. Facebook is also preparing to launch new advertising service based on Atlas, a technology Facebook bought from Microsoft last year. Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest have also built up advertising efforts.
Hootsuite works with more than 35 social networks, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, helping companies track what people say about them on the Internet, as well as manage posts to various social media accounts.
Hootsuite announced a new acquisition alongside the funding, a company called Zeetl that helps companies connect with social media users in other ways, such as over the phone. Hootsuite declined to say how much it agreed to pay for Zeetl.
Though Hootsuite is not profitable, the company insists it could run in the black if it stopped funding its growth. Investors appear to agree. Hootsuite said its valuation doubled as a result of the latest round, though it declined to say by how much. The company has raised more than $250 million overall, including $165 million last year.
Ryan Holmes, head of Hootsuite, said the financing came on the heels of a "fantastic year" in which revenues doubled, though he declined to give specifics.
"We really don't need the money," he said, adding that the company's current cash position was "good," though he declined to say how much the company had in its accounts.
Hootsuite customers include the NHL, eBay and Sony Music Entertainment. The company counts more than 10 million users who have registered with its service, up from 7 million around the same time last year. The company declined to say how many of those accounts are used regularly by customers.