CAHNERS, MCGRAW-HILL, FINANCIAL TIMES & PRIMEDIA INVEST IN BUSINESS.COM

Business Publisher, Sept 30, 2000

Business.com (Santa Monica, CA), an online business directory, search engine and content provider, has secured $61 million in Series C equity financing from a group led by The Financial Times Group, a unit of Pearson, and co-led by Cahners Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier, IndustryClick, a unit of Primedia, and the McGraw-Hill Companies. The investment group also included Mort Zuckerman, owner of U.S. News & World Report, Fast Company and The New York Daily News.

Business.com, launched in June 2000, offers both broad business information and specific content about a particular topic, industry or company. It provodes access to nearly 25,000 business categories and hundreds of thousands of business-oriented Web sites. It carries profiles on 10,000 companies and its 58 major industry markets include data on industry events, news, and trends. Content providers include Dow Jones, Marketwatch.com, Primark, Reuters, and Thomson.

As part of the deal with The Financial Times Group, FT.com will become the major provider of news on financial services, management and international trade on the Business.com site. FT Group ceo Stephen Hill and Cahners ceo Marc Teren will both serve on Business.com's Board of Directors.

Business.com said the funding will allow it to expand the site's features and content, assist international expansion and improve its technology. Hill said his company invested in Business.com "because we believe it has what it takes to be a very big hit with people in need of business information." Teren said "we believe Business.com's market position, specialized taxonomy and Web directory make it a true force in the category."