Regional News

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Interactive Magic Raises $20.8 Million in IPO


Morrisville-based Interactive Magic , a developer of Online and CD-ROM interactive computer games, raised $20.8 million in an initial public offering, selling 2.6 million shares at an initial offering price of $8 a share. The company plans to use the money to increase its game line and marketing efforts.

Founded in 1994, Imagic is the first computer game company out of the Triangle to be publicly traded. The company currently employees more than 120 people. The stock is traded on the Nasdaq market under the symbol IMGK.

Tavve Software Closes $2 Million Round


Tavve Software, a Durham-based software developer, closed on a $2 million round of venture funding from JAD Capital Inc., a Dallas-based venture capital firm.

The company has developed a network management product that allows customers to measure the performance of their computer networks and alert them when a problem occurs. Tavve currently has three employees but plans to hire about 15 employees with the funding, as well as expand into a 2,500 square foot office space in Commercial West office park near Research Triangle Park.

Tavve's customer list includes BB&T and Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and the company has partnerships with IBM, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard.

Research Triangle Ranked Fifth-Fastest Growing Metro Area by U.S. Census


With an increase of more than 200,000 residents in the last seven years, the Research Triangle region was ranked the nation's fifth fastest-growing metropolitan area with a population of more than 1 million by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The area grew by 22.3 percent between 1990 and 1997 to 1.05 million people, and is projected to reach 1.27 million people by 2010. Las Vegas, Phoenix, Atlanta and Austin, Texas, were the only large metropolitan areas that grew faster than the Triangle. The region was ranked 14th overall among 273 metropolitan statistical areas in population growth since 1990.

The findings were a part of the Census Bureau's annual State and Metro Area Data Book. The largest group of its population--18.5 percent-was in the 25- to 34-year-old category. Other N.C. cities also made the listing were Wilmington and Charlotte. Wilmington ranked ninth in the top-15 list ahead of the Triangle in population growth since 1990; the city added 40,000 people for a 1997 population of 213,580. Charlotte was also in the listing, ranked 40th overall with a percentage growth of 16.2 since 1990.

Software '98 Announces Gold Level Sponsors for October 16th Conference


Software '98

, CED's pre-eminent software industry conference, announces Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC as Gold Level Sponsors. The October 16, 1998 conference will be held at Kenan-Flagler Business School in the McColl Center on the campus of UNC-CH. Investors, corporate business development officers, media, potential employees and others are among the 400+ attendees expected for the eighth annual event. Register now! For more information or an application, contact Tawnya Louder-Reynolds .

Find Out Who's Investing Where in the August Issue of the Research Triangle Venture Update


Interested in the latest activities of entrepreneurial companies in the area? Take a look at the August issue of the Research Triangle Venture Update. Published monthly by CED, the Venture Update highlights venture activity, new products and new high-growth companies in North Carolina's Research Triangle area. For more information, contact Carolyn Foy .

Check Out Upcoming CED Programs and Events!


FastTrac Information Session

August 12, 1998
Noon - 1:00 p.m.
CED, Research Triangle Park
Registration required— Register Online!
Do you have an idea for a new business but need to develop a plan?
Do you want to increase your business revenues and profitability?
Do you need to develop a business plan to seek funding or for strategic purposes?
Join us for lunch to learn about the FastTrac entrepreneurial training program!

  • More than 16,000 people have taken FastTrac since its inception in 1986. FastTrac graduates outperform non-graduates in all business measurements.

  • The SBA reports that only 40% of new businesses are still in existence 5 years after start-up, but 74% of FastTrac businesses are still operating successfully.

  • 40-55% of FastTrac graduates more than double their sales within two years of graduation.

Information Technology Roundtable: SOP 97-2 and It's Impact on Your Financial Statement
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Location: CED, Research Triangle Park
Contact: Bill Spruill
Join us at for an open forum discussion designed to inform information technology professionals about SOP 97-2, a major change in how financial statements are structured with regard to software companies. Les Bethune of Ernst & Young will lead the discussion.

For More News on Upcoming August events, checkout the August Issue of CED Links
CED Links is a monthly newsletter for CED members highlighting entrepreneurial activities and issues. CED Links is distributed by email, fax and U.S. Mail, and is posted monthly on the CED Web site.