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ALACRITUDE, LLC - PUBLISHER OF ELIBRARY.COM AND ENCYCLOPEDIA.COM -- RAISES $3.1 MILLION IN SERIES A FINANCING, ADDS INC. 500 CEO TO BOARD
Prism Opportunity Fund leads round - participants include 1to1 Venture Partners, LLC and several individual investors
Press Contact: Jani Spede
Phone Number: 864-650-7111
E-mail: jspede@highbeam.com
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CHICAGO, IL - December 27, 2002 - Alacritude, LLC - publisher of eLibrary.com (www.elibrary.com) and Encyclopedia.com (www.encyclopedia.com) -- announced today that it has secured $3.1 million in Series A funding. Chicago-based Prism Opportunity Fund led the round. Stamford, Conn.-based 1to1 Venture Partners, LLC and a number of individual investors also participated in the first major round of financing.
Alacritude's eLibrary is a subscription-based comprehensive, international digital archive of more than 13 million documents from the world's top newswires, newspapers, magazines and journals. It has more than 1 million users and a growing subscription base of tens of thousands of paying customers.
With the new capital, Patrick Spain, chairman and CEO of Alacritude, plans to build on the platform he created with eLibrary and Encyclopedia.com (acquired from Tucows, Inc. in August, 2002) through both internal growth and acquisitions. The company is focused on creating the leading online research service for individuals by assembling an innovative set of tools and collections of credible and useful data that will save individuals time and help them work more efficiently.
"This round of financing will ensure that Alacritude will have the resources to pursue its mission of creating a fast growing online research service for individuals," said Spain. "We are pleased that we were able to secure financing in such a difficult environment and appreciate the confidence that Prism, 1to1 Venture Partners and our other investors have placed in us."
Steve Vivian, partner of Prism Opportunity Fund, said, "In Alacritude, we are backing one of the most experienced, visionary entrepreneurs one can hope to find at the intersection of an individual focused, online subscription-based tools and content business model. We are excited about the prospects for the company and the team as the online information industry continues to migrate to a fee-based structure."
Prism focuses on early-stage enterprise software companies in addition to growth equity and buyouts in more traditional cash flowing businesses.
1to1 Venture Partners is a private equity fund that joined Prism on Alacritude's first round. 1to1 Venture Partners invests in early-stage companies that leverage interactive and database technologies to collect information about customers and thus increase interaction, service, sales and profits.
Mark Ellis of 1to1 Ventures said, "We are pleased to invest in Alacritude. It has proven management, a solid revenue base and a sound strategy for moving forward." Ellis also serves on Alacritude's board of directors.
New York, N.Y.-based North Haven Partners served as investment advisor; Alison Anthoine of New York City and Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP of Austin, Texas served as the company's legal counsel.
Alacritude also announced that seasoned online media veteran Robert Jordan - founder of Online Access magazine and an Inc. 500 CEO - has joined the company's board of directors.
"Robert Jordan's impressive experience in our industry will be a great asset to our board," Spain said, "He has a proven track record of growing businesses and specializes in point of launch and turnaround companies."
About Alacritude
Alacritude, LLC is a Chicago-based company investing in and operating enterprises positioned at the intersection of technology and media. The company is dedicated to providing online researchers affordable, enterprise-quality information resources and the tools to organize and package information in useful ways. Alacritude is the publisher of eLibrary and Encyclopedia.com, which, through its subscription and free online research services, offers a comprehensive, international digital archive of more than 13 million documents from over 1000 publications such as newspapers, magazines, journals, transcripts, photographs, maps and books - including major works of literature, art and reference.
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