Oak Hill Capital Partners Acquires Alibris
EMERYVILLE, CA—May 8, 2006Oak Hill
Capital Partners announced today that it has acquired Alibris, a
leading online exchange for used, hard-to-find and specialty books,
music and videos. Terms were not disclosed.
According to Bill Pade, a Partner with Oak Hill Capital Partners,
“We have conducted extensive research on the used, rare and
out-of-print book market and related ’long tail’
businesses. We are impressed with the position that Alibris has
built in this market and with the quality of its management, technology
and business partnerships. We are excited about helping this
company grow and prosper.”
“Oak Hill Capital has built an unusually deep knowledge of
the used book market, e-commerce and the challenges of global
distribution,” said Alibris CEO Martin Manley. “They know
this market and are committed to helping us grow internationally,
strengthen our movie and music business and increase consumer awareness
of our Web site.”
Manley noted that this purchase is especially good news for Alibris
sellers. "Strong financial backing will help us deliver the sales
and services needed to make our sellers the most successful in the
online world."
Mr. Manley will serve as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and
Brian Elliott will serve as President and Chief Operating Officer.
The closing of the transaction is expected to occur within several
weeks.
Jefferies Broadview, a division of Jefferies & Company, Inc.,
acted as Alibris's financial advisor, and Cooley Godward LLP served as
legal counsel. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati served as legal counsel to Oak
Hill Capital Partners.
About Oak Hill Capital Partners
Oak Hill Capital Partners is a private equity firm with more than $4.6
billion of committed capital from leading entrepreneurs, endowments,
foundations, corporations, pension funds and global financial institutions.
Robert M. Bass is the lead investor. Over a period of nearly 20 years, the
professionals at Oak Hill Capital have invested in more than 50 significant
private equity transactions, including Genpact, The Container Store, Butler
Animal Health Supply, EXLService, Progressive Moulded Products, TravelCenters
of America, Blackboard, American Savings Bank (Washington Mutual), Bell &
Howell (Proquest), Oreck Corporation and Wometco Cable Corporation. Oak Hill
Capital is one of several Oak Hill partnerships, each of which has a dedicated
and independent management team. These Oak Hill partnerships comprise over $20
billion of investment capital across multiple asset classes, including private
equity, special situations, high yield and bank debt, venture capital, real
estate, a public equity exchange fund and a global fixed income and equity
hedge fund.
About Alibris
Founded in 1998, Alibris connects people who love books, music and movies to
thousands of independent sellers around the world. The company’s
proprietary technology and advanced logistics allow it to offer over 60
million used, new and out-of-print books to consumers, libraries and retailers.
Through a single interface, Alibris sellers gain access to multiple sales
channels, including Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon.com, Books-A-Million
and Alibris’s own retail site. Alibris is one of
Internet Retailer's "Top 100" largest online retailers, and
in 2005 Deloitte named Alibris a Silicon Valley Fast 50 and Technology Fast
500 growth business. The company has been backed by Aberdare Ventures, Bedrock
Capital, CMGI @Ventures, and Weiss, Peck, and Greer Venture Partners. Alibris
is based in Emeryville, California.
Media Inquires
All press inquiries should be directed to
Public Relations at
pr@alibris.com.
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