HydroPoint Secures Investment from Citi Alternative
Investments
Smart Water Management Emerges as the Most Compelling "Green" Solution
Petaluma, Calif., September 25, 2007 – HydroPoint Data
Systems, Inc., provider of WeatherTRAK® smart water management
systems, today announced that it received a material investment
from Sustainable Development Investments (SDI), a unit of Citi
Alternative Investments, a division of Citi. This infusion of
capital accelerates expansion of HydroPoint's sales and services
capabilities and deployment of WeatherTRAK smart water
management systems to property owners and public sector leaders
who are planning economically sustainable green initiatives. As
part of Citi's investment, Gisele S. Everett, a director at SDI,
will join HydroPoint's board of directors.
"SDI's investment focus is on companies with significant growth
potential that can deliver both compelling financial gains and
proven environmental benefits, and HydroPoint is a perfect
example," said Ms. Everett. "Not only does the company's
WeatherTRAK solution deliver dramatic ROI for its customers, it
also provides a multitude of environmental benefits including
water and energy savings and improved water quality."
"The efficient utilization of environmental resources is key to
promoting sustainability – Citi is very pleased to have
HydroPoint join the SDI portfolio," said Pamela Flaherty,
Director of Corporate Citizenship at Citi.
"Citi, a world leader in green technology investments, has made
a $50 billion commitment to addressing global warming and other
environmental issues. Their investment in HydroPoint highlights
the critical importance of intelligently and dynamically
managing water, an increasingly scarce resource we cannot live
without," said HydroPoint President and CEO Chris Spain. "Our
WeatherTRAK solution created a new green technology category.
Now Citi's broad network of resources significantly strengthens
our leadership in smart water management."
HydroPoint's WeatherTRAK solution is proven to conserve more
water than any other urban water technology solution by a factor
of four.
Fifty-eight percent of urban water is applied to landscapes,
which are typically over-watered by 30 to 300 percent. The
WeatherTRAK system is proven in public agency studies to
eliminate 95 percent of that waste and, in doing so, reduce
urban runoff pollution by as much as 71 percent. Conserving
water is also a powerful means of reducing energy demand.
Nineteen percent of California's electricity and 30 percent of
its natural gas are consumed in meeting the state's water needs,
according to the California Energy Commission.
The WeatherTRAK solution monitors and adjusts landscape water
use based on plant needs and daily weather conditions. The
company's Web-enabled commercial product allows customers to
automate smart watering practices for all of their properties
from a single online interface. HydroPoint customers frequently
reduce outdoor water use by 20 to 60 percent and achieve
positive return on their investment within two years through
reduced maintenance, water and sewer expenses. Additionally,
WeatherTRAK customers earn LEED® green building points for water
efficiency.
Public agencies encourage adoption of the WeatherTRAK smart
irrigation system through a variety of measures. Already more
than 50 public agencies across the U.S. offer rebate programs
that cover up to half the cost of the product. The California
cities of Newport Beach and Petaluma offer free WeatherTRAK
systems to qualified homeowners. New California legislation will
mandate the use of smart controllers such as the WeatherTRAK
system.
"The WeatherTRAK solution is a great example of how technology
can deliver on a win, win proposition, saving companies money
and protecting the planet's most precious resource," said Mr.
Spain. "With half the U.S. in a drought and water demand rapidly
escalating, this kind of double bottom line benefit has never
been more pressing. Every company serious about implementing
low-risk green programs with proven financial rewards needs to
look at the WeatherTRAK solution."
Citi's investment is in addition to HydroPoint's series C round
funded earlier this year by RockPort Capital Partners, Chrysalix
Energy Venture Capital, Firelake Strategic Technology Fund,
Monitor Ventures and Shea Ventures.
About HydroPoint Data Systems, Inc.
The WeatherTRAK smart water management solution from HydroPoint
Data Systems, Inc. provides smart irrigation to more than 10,000
customers. WeatherTRAK-enabled™ solutions are also available
through the Toro® and Irritrol® brands. Twenty-two independent
studies prove that WeatherTRAK systems maximize water
conservation and improve landscape health. A California
EPA-funded study proves WeatherTRAK's ability to reduce runoff
pollution by 71 percent. Additionally, the WeatherTRAK product
line received perfect scores across the board on the Smart Water
Application Technology™ protocol, developed by a consortium of
public agencies to objectively measure smart controller
performance. WeatherTRAK solutions are eligible for all public
agency rebate programs and meet the highest U.S. standards for
irrigation equipment, the State of California's. Headquartered
in Petaluma, California, HydroPoint is privately owned and
operated. For more information, visit www.weathertrak.com.
About Citi
Sustainable Development Investments (SDI) is a private equity
investment unit of Citi Alternative Investments focused on
renewable energy, alternative energy, clean technologies, water
management, waste management, energy efficiency and
environmental credits investments.
Citi Alternative Investments is an alternative investment
platform that manages a wide range of products across five asset
classes, including private equity, hedge funds, real estate,
structured products and infrastructure. CAI manages capital on
behalf of Citi, as well as third-party institutional and high
net worth investors. As of June 30, 2007, CAI had approximately
$59.7 billion of un-levered assets under management, ranking CAI
among the world's largest alternative asset managers. CAI's goal
is to enable its 16 investment centers to retain the
entrepreneurial qualities required to capitalize on evolving
opportunities, while benefiting from the intellectual,
operational and financial resources of Citi.
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some
200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100
countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and
institutions with a broad range of financial products and
services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and
investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management.
Citi's major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial,
Primerica, Citi Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information
may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.