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NetLibrary Announces Third Round Funding of $70 Million
Internet's leading provider of eBooks Closes
Strategic Financing with Leaders in the Publishing, Distribution, Interactive
Media, and Venture Industries
BOULDER, COLO.-25 October 1999-NetLibrary, Inc. (www.NetLibrary.com), the
world's premiere provider of electronic books (eBooks) and information over
the Internet, today announced the closing of a third round of strategic venture
funding totaling $70 million. Third-round investors include Houghton Mifflin,
McGraw-Hill, Liberty Digital Inc., Follett Corporation, Blackwell Ltd., EBSCO,
and ABC-CLIO, alongside financial investors Bain Capital, the Berger New Generation
Fund, Tango, and Weiss Peck & Greer LLC.
"This round of financing clearly maps our strategy of enabling four different
industries to enter the eBook arena," said NetLibrary President and Chief Executive
Officer Timothy R. Schiewe. "In addition to the venture funding, this is an
endorsement from publishers, distributors, and a leading interactive media player-all
firms with a stake in our initiative to be the leading provider of eBooks on the Internet."
NetLibrary has undergone significant growth since the company was founded in
August 1998. The eBook provider has signed agreements with more than 80 publishers
of trade, professional, scholarly, and academic books, resulting in more than 7,000
eBooks in the main NetLibrary collection. Hundreds of university, private, and
public libraries now offer eBooks to their patrons through NetLibrary. And the
company's staff has grown to more than 250 employees who have recently moved into
a new corporate campus in Boulder, Colo.
"NetLibrary's growth over the past year is particularly impressive," said Scott
Beck, founder and chief executive officer of Tango, a private investment company based
in Boulder. "We are delighted to see the increasing level of investor enthusiasm in
this round of financing. NetLibrary is one of the strongest concepts we've seen, on
the Internet or elsewhere, and we believe the company will be the premier source for
electronic books with potential to reach a broad business and consumer audience."
"There is no company I know that is better poised than NetLibrary to take advantage
of the coming boom in digital publishing and distribution," said Ron Boehm, CEO of
ABC-CLIO. "In addition to already having an extensive collection of eBooks to offer
readers, NetLibrary has the infrastructure in place, a talented staff of professionals,
and the vision to make their name synonymous with electronic book provision."
According to Schiewe, the new infusion of capital will enable NetLibrary to continue
to develop relationships with publishers, libraries, and universities, and to increase
advertising and marketing efforts to build loyalty for the NetLibrary brand. "By
contributing to this third round, our investors have expressed confidence in our
vision and ability to be the number-one eBook source on the Internet."
NetLibrary provides readers anytime, anywhere access to a comprehensive collection
of trade, reference, scholarly, and professional eBooks and information that can be
viewed, searched, and checked out via the Internet. The recently redesigned NetLibrary
website at www.NetLibrary.com offers visitors one-click access to eBooks and, through a
variety of community features, is quickly becoming the destination of choice for eBook
enthusiasts the world over.
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