Safeguard Scientifics Provides $13.5 Million Series A Financing to Beyond.com, Inc

Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE:SFE), a holding company which builds value in growth-stage technology and life sciences companies, today announced it provided $13.5 million of capital in a Series A financing round to Beyond.com, Inc., a leading provider of online technology and career services to job seekers and corporations throughout the United States.

Based in King of Prussia, PA, Beyond.com supports the largest niche and local career network comprised of more than 15,000 online communities, monetizing its unique go-local model via job posting and career services, online lead generation and online advertising. The Beyond.com Network of websites attracts on average more than 3 million unique visitors per month, and powers career portals for some of the Internetís best known career brands and media publishers, including: Vert Markets, CMP Technology, Network World, and NameMedia,Inc. The companyís rapidly expanding network of local sites includes well-established career portals such as PhillyJobs.com, SeattleJobs.com, and PhoenixJobs.com.

ìBeyond.com is aligned with Safeguardís focus to partner with entrepreneurial technology companies that have a competitive advantage in Software as a Service (SaaS), Technology-Enabled Services and Internet-based businesses,î said Peter J. Boni, President and Chief Executive Officer of Safeguard. ìWeíre executing upon our game plan to deploy capital in innovative and attractive companies to generate increased value for our shareholders. We welcome Beyond.com to the Safeguard team.î

A significant portion of the $13.5 million Series A funding will be used to fuel key executive hires, marketing, and strategic acquisitions for Beyond.com. In addition, Beyond.com plans to augment and expand its service-oriented platform, providing even greater scalability and adaptability to support its expanding portfolio of partner websites.

ìSafeguard partners with market leaders who demonstrate clear technology innovation,î says John A. Loftus, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the Technology Group at Safeguard. ìWe believe that Beyond.com has cracked the code for go-local and niche online recruitment advertising. Its multi-tenant and multi-site, customizable platform allows niche, channel, and local Web properties to rapidly offer career services to job seekers and employers, while driving advertising sales.î

Loftus continued, ìBeyond.com is a leader in the transition from print to online recruitment. Revenue from online job listings is projected to hit $11 billion by 2011. Already one of the industryís top 10 career platforms, Beyond.com is well-positioned for growth by expanding its partner network and generating more revenue opportunities from targeted, local job advertisements.î

ìOur decision to partner with Safeguard Scientifics was based on their proven track record in growing successful companies,î says Rich Milgram, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Beyond.com. ìWe have been, and continue to be, a successful, profitable company. Partnering with Safeguard will help us go further faster, because we now have access to their unique model, rich management support platform and an array of business resources that help entrepreneurial companies grow and thrive.î

As part of this transaction, John Loftus and Erik Rasmussen, Vice President of the Technology Group at Safeguard, have joined Beyond.comís Board of Directors.