Spark Capital sells company to Comcast

Boston venture capital firm Spark Capital has sold its first portfolio company to Comcast Corp., the country's largest cable provider, only six months after investing in the firm.

Spark was one of the two largest investors in The Platform, a Seattle company that managed multimedia content for broadband providers and cable and broadcast networks. Santo Politi, a Spark general partner, said the sale closed yesterday, but would not disclose terms of the deal.

The deal was originally reported on the web site paidcontent.org, a blog for online media industry insiders, which reported the sale's value at about $80 million. Politi said that was incorrect.

"That's not a good number. It was outside that range," he said.

Spark, headquarted on Newbury Street in the Back Bay, was co-founded by former members of two of the region's biggest VC firms -- Todd Dagres, a former parter in Battery Ventures, and Politi, a former partner with Charles River Ventures. Former Charles River executive Paul Conway also is a founding partner.

Spark first invested an undisclosed amount in The Platform in December with an eye toward growing the firm for several years, Politi said, but several bidders approached the company's investors since then with offers.

"This was actually a lot earlier than we thought it would be," Politi said. "We ultimately came to the conclusion that this was a good time for everyone. The price was right and the moment in time was right.”
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)