Lithium Raises $50m Pre-IPO Funds

US-based social media solutions firm Lithium Technologies has raised $50m in pre-IPO 'mezzanine' financing, which it will use to further advance its technology platform, expand its global presence, and make 'strategic' growth-related acquisitions.

Lithium provides 'social customer relationship management' (SCRM) solutions, to enable clients to create and manage their own social media customer networks, while its Lithium Insights analytics tool measures and benchmarks the 'health' of online communities. Last year, the company acquired Social Dynamx, whose platform enables clients to analyse and respond to social media conversations in real-time, and in 2010 it bought social media monitoring company Scout Labs.

The new financing has been secured from a syndicate of global institutional investors, along with existing investor New Enterprise Associates.

Rob Tarkoff (pictured), Lithium President and CEO, comments: 'It's great to welcome a group of strong public equity buyers to our investor base. We have an enormous market opportunity, amazing customers, and stronger leadership and financial resources to build Lithium into a long-term, global company. We can grow aggressively without distraction while we consider the right timing for a public market offering.'

Web site: www.lithium.com .