Austin Ventures Promotes Vernon Bryant and Scott Donaldson

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - Dec 18, 2012) - Austin Ventures ("AV"), a venture capital firm investing in early stage and middle market companies predominantly in Texas, announced today the promotions of Vernon Bryant and Scott Donaldson to Partner. Bryant and Donaldson will continue to co-lead AV's Texas middle market investment efforts alongside AV Founders and General Partners, Joe Aragona and Ken DeAngelis.

"AV is excited to promote Vernon and Scott to Partner in recognition of their successful investments in Texas middle market companies. Vernon began co-investing with AV nearly a decade ago and his partnership with Scott has been gaining momentum over the past several years. This team has invested in seven Texas middle market transactions since 2003, including the combination of Dallas-based BenefitMall and CompuPay announced earlier this year," said Joe Aragona. "The results of AV's Texas middle market investments have been outstanding as exemplified most recently by the sale of Waxahachie-based Magnablend to Univar. We will continue to grow this segment of our business while we remain the largest and most active early stage investor in Texas."

Vernon Bryant joined AV in 2011 after eleven years with TGF Management Corp. ("TGF"), one of the most active middle market investment firms in the Southwest and a frequent co-investor with AV. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of BenefitMall/CompuPay, Houston-based Delta Rigging & Tools, Dallas-based ENTACT, and San Antonio-based Sterling Foods. He previously served as a member of the board of directors of Magnablend, Houston-based Orion Marine Group (ORN), and Dallas-based Southern Star Concrete (Acquired by Compania de Cementos Argos SA), among other prior investments. Prior to TGF, Vernon was a Director at the Beacon Group, LLC, a New York-based private equity and investment banking firm. He was also an Associate with Sandefer Capital Partners, an energy focused private equity firm in Austin and was a CPA with Deliotte & Touche and Ernst & Young. Vernon received an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and a BBA in accounting from Texas Christian University.

Scott Donaldson joined AV in 2007 after four years of prior middle market investing experience. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of BenefitMall/CompuPay, Delta Rigging & Tools, ENTACT, and Sterling Foods. He previously served as a member of the board of directors of Magnablend, among other prior investments. Prior to joining AV, Scott was a vice president and founding partner of Silver Oak Services Partners, a private equity investment firm based in Evanston, Illinois. Prior to Silver Oak, he was a private equity associate at Willis Stein & Partners in Chicago and an investment banking analyst at Thomas Weisel Partners in San Francisco. Scott received his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and holds an undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard University.

"This is an exciting time at AV. Our team, our Texas focus, and recent results and new opportunities are as strong as ever in both our markets," added Ken DeAngelis. "AV is well positioned to continue its 30-year history of being the local venture capital partner of choice for talented entrepreneurs and executives building early stage and middle market companies in Texas."

About Austin Ventures

Austin Ventures ("AV") has worked with talented entrepreneurs to build valuable companies for over 30 years. With $3.9 billion under management, AV is the most active venture capital firm in Texas and one of the most established in the nation. AV invests in early stage and middle market companies, and its strategy is to partner with talented executives and entrepreneurs to build industry-leading companies predominantly in Texas. Visit Austin Ventures for more information.