Zipcar has added big money and big-name board members to its fleet, according to two different company announcements today. The Cambridge, MA-based car-sharing service said it has raised a $21 million Series G financing, with Meritech Capital Partners leading with a $20 million investment and Pinnacle Ventures contributing $1 million.
It also added a big corporate presence to its board, with the additions of AOL co-founder and former CEO and chairman Steve Case, and John Mahoney, vice chairman and CFO of Framingham, MA-based Staples. He’ll take a newly established Zipcar board seat, expanding the company’s board to nine members, and will chair the audit committee.
Case already has connections to Zipcar. His investment firm, Revolution, was the main owner of Seattle-based car-sharing service Flexcar, which merged with Zipcar in 2007. He also co-chairs President Obama’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, of which Zipcar co-founder Robin Chase is a member.
Zipcar said the new money will go to financing fleet growth and geographical expansion, and funding capital needs. In June the firm filed for an initial public offering, looking to raise $75 million, to put towards paying off debt, working capital, expanding its services and fleet, and sales and marketing activities. In the first six months of this year, the company had $79.2 million in revenue, but posted a net loss of nearly $10.6 million, largely due to $86.7 million operating expenses, according to SEC documents. In April of this year, it acquired British car club Streetcar for a reported $50 million.
