"With a Web site address that was once worth $200 million, Art.com reaches five million unique visitors each month. A decade on from its founding, the seller of posters, original art and custom-framed art has raised $30 million in a first funding round from Polaris Venture Partners, typically an early stage investor, and Southern Capitol Ventures.
Art.com has been profitable since 1999, but thought it needed another push for the next step, which may well be an IPO. The company started out as AllWall.com, acquiring its current address from Getty Images Inc. for a substantially smaller figure than the $200 million that Getty paid for it earlier. Art.com mainly competes with AllPosters.com Inc., a Benchmark Capital portfolio company.
Polaris is expected to play an important role in taking Art.com public, though a time frame hasn't been set yet. Among Polaris' successful public exits are Akamai Technologies, provider of Internet content delivery services, and distance-learning software maker Centra Software."
More on Art.com from newsobserver.com
[Venturewire Alert]
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