Everest set to raise Rs 40 cr

Everest Software, formerly iCode Inc, is set to raise close to $10 million through the private equity route by the end of this year. This will be Everest's fourth round of funding after its earlier three rounds through which it raised close to $14 million since its inception in 1994.

According to industry sources, Everest is on an aggressive expansion plan and this funding will be the fuel.

The company, which provides business application suite solutions for small and medium-sized businesses in the distribution and retail sector, was founded by Bijal Mehta, a Silicon Valley based entrepreneur. It has a development centre in Bangalore.

"Three to four funds are in the final stages of investing in this firm and the deal should be inked pretty soon," officials close to the deal said.

The earlier rounds of funding in this company were from Actis (earlier CDC), Updata and Sierra Ventures.

The company has established itself in the marketplace through its flagship product, Everest, which is a fully-integrated business application suite that provides SMBs with a complete view of their business by enabling them to track and manage all key business operations from a single interface.

Everest aims at managing all important business functions including accounting, inventory management, order management and fulfillment, e-commerce, CRM, and Point-of-Sale (POS).

The suite allows firms to manage and track business operations online and offline, from storefront and front office to the back office.

In an effort to leverage the brand equity of this product, iCode recently changed its name to Everest.

"We believe the Everest Software name has greater meaning for our customers and prospects. We intend to capitalise on the significant brand equity we've established in the small and medium-business markets with the Everest brand through our product suite and our professional services offerings," the company had said when this renaming was done recently.