News

NewSpring Capital Announces Investment in Smart Destinations, Inc.

RADNOR, PA, February 21, 2008 – NewSpring Capital, of Radnor, PA and Short Hills, NJ, announced today that NewSpring Ventures, the dedicated growth and expansion stage venture fund of the NewSpring Capital fund family, led a $7 million Series C Preferred Stock financing into Smart Destinations, Inc. with a $6.3 million investment. The current investors filled out the remainder of the round. Headquartered in Boston, MA and founded in 2003, Smart Destinations provides smart-card based packaged travel products and services to the tourism industry. The Company’s flagship product, “The GoCard”, provides an all-in-one admission pass to a city’s top attractions. Today, Smart Destinations' product offering is available in 12 locations in the U.S. including Boston, New York, Chicago, Orlando, Miami, San Diego, Los Angeles, Oahu, Maui, San Francisco, Seattle, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Proceeds from the financing will enable Smart Destinations to continue its U.S. expansion through new destination openings and continued growth in existing markets and will also be used to fund new product development.

"Due to the tremendous demand for our unique, valuable travel solutions, Smart Destinations has enjoyed remarkable growth over the last 3 years,” notes Kevin McLaughlin, co-founder and CEO of Smart Destinations. “We are excited to partner with NewSpring Capital on this round of financing to further accelerate our efforts and continue our destination and product expansion, allowing Smart Destinations to deliver affordable, one-of-a-kind solutions to even more travelers around the world."

“The Company’s highly scalable smart-card based solution provides a compelling value proposition and allows for numerous card program extensions to fit the need of the consumer.” said Glenn Rieger, General Partner of NewSpring Capital. “We are extremely excited about the future growth prospects of Smart Destinations and believe we can deliver significant expertise at the intersection of the direct-to-consumer business models and card-based technology solutions.”

As part of this growth financing, Glenn Rieger of NewSpring Capital will join Smart Destinations’ Board of Directors. NewSpring Ventures joins North Hill Ventures and Zon Capital Partners as investors in the company.