Agribuys Secures $32 Million in Funding Led by Internet Capital Group; Company Positioned to More Aggressively Capture Share of Multitrillion-Dollar Global Market Opportunity.

Business Editors

TORRANCE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 2000

Agribuys, a leading global provider of integrated Web-based procurement services developed for the food industry, today announced that it has secured $32 million in funding -- $24 million from Internet Capital Group (ICG), with the balance from global strategy partners.

ICG is a leading business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce company that provides capital support, operational assistance, industry expertise and a strategic network of business relationships.

"The food industry is ripe for a B2B e-commerce solution to streamline the complex process of bringing hundreds of thousands of food products from the farm to the dinner table," said Ron Hovsepian, managing director of ICG. "The potential savings for the industry are in excess of $7 billion per year in the United States alone," said Hovsepian. "We are excited to welcome Agribuys to the ICG partner network."

"This capital infusion will permit us to continue our exponential international expansion and our rapid development of innovative functionality," said Marina Kotsianas, Agribuys' president and chief executive officer.

"In addition, we will be able to better expand our role as a facilitator of change for our customers. We can apply our deep industry expertise to help organizations understand and realize the potential of evolving technology such as Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR)."

Dhruba Kalita, Agribuys' co-founder and chief technology officer, said: "From day one, we have developed our own core technology. This has allowed us to create a robust, scalable and secure system that can respond nimbly to the evolving needs of the industry.

"Indeed, our success has been predicated on the fact that we actively seek and incorporate input about the system from our customers. With a staff of experts in the food industry and in e-commerce, we have been able to add functionality at e-speed. That pace will accelerate significantly utilizing ICG's knowledge and relationships in B2B e-commerce."

The Agribuys Solution

Agribuys addresses the fundamental needs and inefficiencies of the food industry's procurement process -- from order consolidation and requisition, purchase orders and invoicing to shipment tracking, bills of lading and invoice reconciliation. The Agribuys system has been developed to enhance relationships through private communication and immediacy of information.

Agribuys serves all key food-industry segments, including produce, meat, poultry, seafood, ingredients, dairy and floral. Its modular technological tools streamline procurement for both large, multiunit food companies and smaller operations -- for both buyers and suppliers.

Agribuys offers the broadest range of transaction models in the industry, including requisition systems, spot buying, contract buying, specials, ordering systems and market-based models.

Traction

Since its founding in August 1999, Agribuys has enjoyed considerable success. The company has gained significant acceptance in the U.S. and international market, attracting key customers that represent transaction volume measuring tens of billions of dollars.

The company has grown from three employees to 130. It has opened an office in Australia and by year-end will have established offices on four continents.

Agribuys has established software development centers in the United States and India. It has released five enhancements to the original technology platform, offering substantial new functionality every two months.

About Agribuys

Agribuys is a leading global provider of integrated Web-based procurement services for the food industry. Having recognized that the process extends far beyond a simple transaction model, the company provides a menu of services from preorder, transaction execution to post-order services in multiple food segments, including produce, meat, poultry, seafood, ingredients, dairy and floral. These services are seamlessly incorporated into its customers' front-end sales systems and back-end information systems, facilitating collaborative supply-chain management.

The Agribuys management team is a thought leader in the industry, bringing together deep perishable-food-industry domain expertise with extensive experience in technology and e-commerce. Based in California, with offices in India and Australia, Agribuys is rapidly expanding to further broaden its global procurement platform. Visit the site at www.agribuys.com or call 877/499-3052.

About Internet Capital Group

Internet Capital Group (www.internetcapital.com) is an Internet company actively engaged in business-to-business e-commerce through a network of partner companies. It provides operational assistance, capital support, industry expertise and a strategic network of business relationships intended to maximize the long-term market potential of more than 70 business-to-business e-commerce companies.

With headquarters in Wayne, Pa., Internet Capital Group has offices in San Francisco; Boston; Seattle; London; Munich, Germany; Paris; Tokyo; and Hong Kong.