Austin Ventures Provides $50 Million Commitment to Form New Venture; Brian H. Sharples, Former IntelliQuest CEO, Will Lead New Information Services Venture.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 2004

Austin Ventures ("AV"), today announced that it has committed $50 million to launch a new growth-oriented venture in the information services sector. Brian H. Sharples, an industry veteran, will lead the venture as Chief Executive Officer. Sharples and Austin Ventures are actively evaluating numerous acquisition and startup opportunities in the information services market.

"We are excited about our partnership with Brian to pursue the acquisition and/or development of a leading company in the syndicated data and information space," said Ken DeAngelis, AV general partner. "AV has made several successful investments in the information services sector, where Brian has a wealth of experience as both an operating executive and in creating value for Austin Ventures."

Sharples's industry experience includes ten years at IntelliQuest Information Group, an AV investment, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer. During his tenure at IntelliQuest, the company was twice named to Inc. 500's list of fastest growing private companies, and completed two highly successful public offerings (Nasdaq:IQST) prior to a merger with WPP Group plc -- (Nasdaq:WPPGY). Prior to the merger, IntelliQuest spun-out its IQ2.net unit in a merger with another private company, which was later sold to Equifax (NYSE:EFX). Brian is a former consultant with Bain & Co. and a graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Brian has also served on a number of private Boards of Directors for both venture-backed companies and non-profit organizations.

"Austin Ventures has committed significant capital and intellectual resources to this venture, and we're confident that our combined experience and market knowledge provides the right platform to build a successful information company," said Mr. Sharples. "With AV's resources and capital commitment, this venture is well-positioned to rapidly assess a range of attractive options and execute a successful growth strategy. We're interested in working with existing companies and entrepreneurs that have developed mission-critical information products serving rapidly growing markets. Our efforts will place particular emphasis on identifying opportunities that leverage proprietary information, data and processes to develop predictable and growing subscription-based revenue with significant gross margin leverage."

Mr. Sharples will be based in Austin, Texas and will evaluate potential deals throughout the United States.

About Austin Ventures

Austin Ventures has been working with talented entrepreneurs to build valuable companies since 1979. With $2.4 billion under management, AV is the most active venture capital firm in Texas, and one of the most established in the nation. With a focus on business services, computer and communications hardware, and enterprise software, Austin Ventures invests at all stages of company development, from $100,000 "planned experiments" to $50+ million investments in management buyouts.