Elibrium, European firm align

By Tim Simmers, BUSINESS WRITER
Thursday, June 19, 2003 - 4:09:54 AM PST

SAN MATEO -- Elibrium, which sells small business and home-office software products, has entered into a partnership with a European firm to sell products globally.
San Mateo-based Elibrium and BVRP Software of France, have created an umbrella group that will allow software developers in the U.S. and Europe to expand sales in retail outlets internationally.
Elibrium sells simple software sold in shrink-wrapped boxes at retail chains. The software helps small businesses create invoices, mailing lists, business cards and labels.
Founded by three women veterans of the dot-com industry, Elibrium has seen sales jump 35 percent in the last year, and expects $20 million in revenue this year.
The deal creates an organization of software publishers called Avanquest Global Software Publishing.
Under its new strategy, Elibrium offers services to developers such as packaging, warehousing and shipping.

The arrangement allows Elibrium, which creates its own in-house software brand called MySoftware, to sell more goods in Europe. The deal also gives Elibrium an opportunity to expands its portfolio of products to those not developed in house.
BVRP took a majority investment in Elibrium in December 2002.
Elibrium started as a division of ClickAction of Palo Alto, an Internet firm. It sold software in shrink-wrapped boxes to retailers, but didn't fit the Internet mold. Unable to get funding from its own company, the women bought the division and ran it independently before joining with BVRP.
"(The deal) gives Elibrium a chance to bring a wider range of products to our retail customers," said Anne Norland, Elibrium's marketing chief.