E-COMMERCE ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES ATTRACT VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS

The Deal's supplement on e-commerce reports the latest trends in financing this booming sector

September 8, 2000--Despite the downturn in online retailing, venture capital and private equity firms have continued to commit significant funds to technology companies developing e-commerce related software, applications and infrastructure. In a 12-page supplement, The Daily Deal (www.thedailydeal.com) describes this trend with profiles and charts ranking the biggest mergers, IPOs, venture investments and underwriters in the e-commerce sector.

Because technology valuations are leveling off, venture capitalists with money to spend are investing billions to get into the ground floor of e-commerce enabling technology providers as opposed to e-commerce retailers. A total of $9.37 billion was placed in the second quarter of this year (source: PricewaterhouseCoopers Money Tree report), while investments in e-commerce Web sites dropped 32% in the same period to 479.2 million from $709 million (source: Venture One).

The e-commerce special report also carries a feature that points to wave of private equity players moving into venture capital-style deals in the last two years, both early- and late-stage growth investing, in addition to characteristic leverage deals. Senior writer David Carey focuses on Liberty Partners, a private equity boutique known for buyouts of steel-tube makers, bar-code printers and paint manufacturers, as a prime example of how one classic private equity firm has embraced investment opportunities presented by B2B technologies.

A third feature appears on Marimba Inc., a developer of e-commerce enabling technologies, which is turning profits ahead of schedule and beating analyst's earnings estimates. In this fast-growing market, as Susan Karp reports, "What makes Marimba's financial achievements all the more newsworthy is . . . Internet companies rarely make money."

The e-commerce report is the second consecutive supplement that ran in the newspaper this week, following on the heels of Recruiting Tomorrow's Dealmakers, which focused on recruiting trends and strategies used by investment banks descending on university graduate business and law schools to begin the race to attract promising talent.

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The Deal, LLC is the leading media company charting the deal economy for dealmakers worldwide. The company provides original news reporting, financial data and commentary on a full spectrum of global transactions and the personalities and politics of dealmakers behind the deals. Through The Daily Deal and TheDeal.com, as well as e-newsletters, newsletters and special reports, The Deal, LLC addresses the information needs of the deal community composed of corporate executives, entrepreneurs, institutional investors, financial intermediaries and advisers. Investors in The Deal, LLC, a privately held company, include majority owner U.S. Equity Partners, a private investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP, and Rustic Canyon Ventures, one of the largest venture capital funds in Southern California.