BizBuyer.com Raises $38.5 Million From TMCT Ventures, @Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, eCompanies, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Ventures and US Venture Partners

Business Wire, Dec 6, 1999

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 6, 1999--

TMCT Ventures Leads Round With Times Mirror Executive Vice President

and CFO Tom Unterman Joining BizBuyer.com Board of Directors

BizBuyer.com (http://www.bizbuyer.com), the leading online business-to-business marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of business products and services, today announced that it has raised $38.5 million in third-round financing from leading venture capital firms and financial institutions, as well as from previous BizBuyer.com investors. As a major part of the announcement, BizBuyer.com has named TMCT Ventures partner and Executive Vice President and CFO Tom Unterman to its Board of Directors.

Lead investors in this round include TMCT Ventures, the recently formed venture fund by Times Mirror and Chandler Trust; previous investor @Ventures, the venture capital affiliate of CMGI, Inc. (Nasdaq:CMGI); and Redpoint Ventures, the technology-focused venture capital firm formed by Brentwood Venture Capital and Institutional Venture Partners. Additional investors include eCompanies Venture Group, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Ventures and US Venture Partners. Since January 1999, BizBuyer.com has raised a total of $44.5 million that includes a previous $5 million investment from @Ventures and a $1 million angel round that included eBay's Meg Whitman.

"With $39 billion in business-to-business revenue last year and a target of $1.5 trillion by 2004, BizBuyer.com is clearly in a unique position to profit from this hot sector of the Web," said Tom Unterman, new BizBuyer.com board member. "BizBuyer.com has done an outstanding job of maintaining its first-to-market advantage in the small to mid-size business arena. I look forward to playing an integral role in the rapid development of their core business strategy of building a global marketplace for small and mid-size businesses." Mr. Unterman is a partner with TMCT Ventures and will continue in his role of executive vice president and CFO of Times Mirror through the end of the year.

"BizBuyer.com's depth of market know-how and seasoned management team create a winning formula for business-to-business e-commerce," said Brad Jones, a partner for Redpoint Ventures. "Our investment exemplifies Redpoint's mission in helping to build the next generation of the Internet."

"BizBuyer.com has shown impressive growth since its launch in June," said Peter Mills, managing partner with @Ventures. "With 53 product and service categories, over 15,000 pre-qualified vendors and leading strategic partners in place, BizBuyer.com has become the de facto source in this emerging market. This latest investment is a reflection of our continued belief in their talented management team and long-term business plan."

"The support from this distinguished list of investors significantly extends our leadership position in providing the best, buyer-driven marketplace for small and mid-size businesses," said Bernard Louvat, president, founder and CEO of BizBuyer.com. "This new financing validates the strength of our business model and gives us the freedom to execute on our vision of revolutionizing the way small and mid-size businesses do business."

Founded in September 1998 by Bernard Louvat, BizBuyer.com has rapidly grown into the leading business-to-business marketplace for small and mid-size businesses. Louvat's idea for BizBuyer.com came to fruition out of frustration with the procurement process while setting up shop for Office Depot and the Disney Store in Europe. His vision has turned BizBuyer.com into a one-stop-shop for businesses to efficiently and effectively buy and sell business products and services in Internet time. Since the launch of the site in June 1999, the company has grown to 53 product and service categories with over 15,000 vendors bidding on the purchasing needs of small and mid-size businesses. Strategic partnerships include Qwest Communications, PSINet, UUNET and PageMart Wireless.

The BizBuyer.com Community

The BizBuyer.com community revolves around the simple idea of connecting buyers with qualified vendors. Buyers and sellers are brought together through an online marketplace that allows small to mid-size businesses to find qualified sellers, compare quotes and make informed purchasing decisions, saving valuable time and money. For the first time, buyers have the opportunity to drive the purchasing process by anonymously reviewing vendor qualifications and other members' reviews before requesting contact with the vendor. Buyers do business with the vendors they choose under their own terms. For vendors, BizBuyer.com provides qualified sales leads, reduces customer acquisition costs and expands sales capacity.

About BizBuyer.com

Headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., with offices in Silicon Valley, BizBuyer.com is the leading business-to-business marketplace where buyers and sellers meet to buy and sell business products and services. The site offers small to mid-size businesses an online marketplace from which to purchase products and services through competitive quotes from thousands of pre-qualified vendors. The BizBuyer.com community currently offers more than 15,000 vendors registered to quote on 53 product and service categories from 16 vertical markets. These include: computer services and equipment, telecommunications services, Internet services, business consulting, IT consulting, travel and transportation, insurance, financial services, HR and personnel services, office services, legal services, office equipment and supplies, real estate services, sales, marketing and creative services and international services. BizBuyer.com's private investors include TMCT Ventures, CMGI's @Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, eCompanies Venture Group, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Ventures, US Venture Partners and a host of angel investors that includes eBay's Meg Whitman.