Wow. We just got news that Alibris has been purchased by private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners. Current President and CEO Marty Manley will be stepping down as CEO President, and will become the CEO and chairman of the board. Current COO Brian Elliot will become the new CEO President and COO.
Congrats, guys.
More details from:
Publishers Weekly story:
“With the backing of Oak Hill, Alibris is planning for rapid growth through the addition of more booksellers, publishers and distribution partners. Although Manley declined to discuss specifics, significant investment in likely in the international market. Alibris does some business abroad, but has not yet established any overseas Web sites, something that will likely be addressed soon…While Manley said he expects the majority of Alibris’s growth to come organically, the online used market is highly fragmented and could be ripe for consolidation by a company with Oak Hill’s resources. The only stand-alone online book market larger than Alibris is Abebooks.”Oak Hill Capital Partners press release:
“According to Bill Pade, a Partner with Oak Hill Capital Partners, ‘We have conducted extensive research on the used/hard to find/rare 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.”VentureWire Professional:
“Alibris has gotten some $50 million in the last seven years from backers Aberdare Ventures, Bedrock Capital Partners, CMGI @Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, formerly known as Weiss Peck & Greer Venture Partners. The last $3 million round of funding came in September 2004, after the company withdrew a planned public offering, citing pricing weakness…Alibris, whose gross sales were up 20% to 30% to more than $70 million last year, isn’t a start-up any more, Manley said…Oak Hill is funding the all-equity transaction with money from its $2.5 billion Oak Hill Capital Partners II LP, which closed in September, said Bill Pade, a partner with the firm…Oak Hill is providing an undisclosed amount of working capital that Alibris will use to set up Web sites in Europe and Asia. The company also aims to expand its network of 8,000 booksellers with smaller publishers and also wants to get more music and movie dealers on board, Manley said. Alibris might also make add-on acquisitions.”Alibris’ letter to booksellers (via FrauBucher):
“This is terrific news for our sellers because it enables us to invest more in marketing, accelerate our international expansion and rejuvenate our music and movie business. We will continue to grow our distribution channels, improve our Web site and deliver tools and innovations that benefit our premiere network of sellers.”
(I’ll be updating this post with more details as they emerge.)
Posted by Anirvan
