Autodaq Corporation Secures $33 Million Financing Led by Madison Dearborn Partners

Business Wire, Nov 14, 2000

Business Editors & Automotive Writers

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 2000

-- MDP and Enterprise Rent-A-Car Executives Join Board --

Autodaq Corporation, a leading business-to-business e-commerce automotive and remarketing company, today announced that it has secured an additional $33 million in private financing, led by new investors Madison Dearborn Partners, Inc., based in Chicago, Illinois (www.mdcp.com), and Clayton Venture Group, based in St. Louis, Missouri.

August Capital, Autodaq's first-round lead, and Zilkha Ventures, another first-round investor, also participated in this second round of financing. Autodaq has raised more than $38 million in venture capital since its founding in July 1999.

Benjamin Chereskin, Madison Dearborn Partners managing partner, and Sandy Rogers, Enterprise Rent-A-Car senior vice president (representing Clayton Venture Group), have joined Autodaq's board of directors.

Adam Boyden, Autodaq president and chief executive officer, said, "We are pleased that Madison Dearborn Partners, a premier private equity firm with a strong record of investing in market-leading and growth companies, is leading our second round of financing and has been joined by August Capital and many of our first round investors.

"This investment is a strong vote of confidence in Autodaq - in our business, in our future and in our team. We now have a firm financial foundation on which to build our long-term commitment to bringing state-of-the-art e-commerce technology and remarketing services to the wholesale automotive industry."

Chereskin said, "Three key factors made Autodaq a particularly compelling investment to Madison Dearborn Partners. First, Autodaq has developed an exceptional Internet-based infrastructure and services that can generate significant savings for all participants in the complex wholesale used car market. Second, the wholesale used car market, at approximately $100 billion in annual sales, is huge and is still in the early stages of adopting business-to-business Internet technologies and services. And, third, we have tremendous confidence in Autodaq management and its team of high-tech, automotive remarketing and auto industry professionals."

David Marquardt, August Capital co-founder and partner, added, "Autodaq's compelling vision continues to be validated by its steady progress in delivering Internet auction and remarketing services to the automotive wholesale market. Buyers who have used Autodaq Internet auction services are excited by the online access to inventories of cars, as well as the ease and efficiency of the system. Sellers who have used Autodaq Internet auction services have been empowered with a tool that strategically targets their markets, while concurrently reducing costs and dramatically compressing sales cycles. For August Capital, that translated into an opportunity worthy of additional investment."

Autodaq Corporation (www.autodaq.com) is an automotive remarketing company that provides the infrastructure and technology to facilitate the business-to-business trade of used cars on the Internet, as well as professional remarketing services that include remarketing management, lease maturity management, strategic marketing, vehicle sourcing, and sales and leadership training. Autodaq services significantly reduce costs, increase profitability and improve operational efficiency for financial institutions, auto manufacturers and other fleet, lease and rental car operators, as well as franchised, independent and Internet-based auto dealers and wholesalers. Based in Menlo Park, Calif., Autodaq is a privately held company; its investors include August Capital, Madison Dearborn Partners, Zilkha Ventures, Clayton Venture Group, and several angel investors from the Internet and automotive industries.

SOURCE: Autodaq Corporation