Construction.com Makes Strategic Investment In e-Builder; Investment Allows Construction.com Users Unprecedented Access to e-Builder's Internet Applications.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2000

Construction.com, the industry marketplace that enables construction professionals to do their job faster, better and cheaper, and part of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), today announced that it has made a substantial strategic investment in e-Builder, Inc., the pioneer and leading provider of business-to-business project-centric Internet applications for the construction industry. As part of the agreement, the two companies will leverage construction.com as a vehicle to deliver integrated on-line content, tools and services never before available in the industry. The e-Builder product offering is immediately available through the construction.com Web site located at http://www.construction.com. Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

The addition of e-Builder's suite of business-to-business services to construction.com reflects a continued commitment to providing the most extensive information and indispensable productivity tools available for the construction industry. With the enhanced capabilities of e-Builder, construction.com now offers entire teams -- from owners to architects, engineers to contractors -- the ability to manage the complex design and construction process with the power of the Web.

"After reviewing the needs of our customers and other members of the construction community, we elected to invest in e-Builder based on the company's strong understanding of the industry, the easy-to-use nature of the e-Builder offering and the strength of the management team. The decision was also made after an exhaustive examination of many potential partners. We clearly believe that e-Builder is the best possible choice for our partners," said Norbert Young, president, The McGraw-Hill Companies Construction Information Group.

"This is a significant step in expanding construction.com from an information destination, to an `enabling' destination, one that helps industry professionals achieve their goal of doing their job faster, better and cheaper," Young added. "Additionally, this solidifies our position as the most comprehensive construction destination on the Internet and clearly defines our support for Web-based collaboration and commerce."

"As the leading provider of trusted editorial content in the industry, construction.com is a perfect venue for reaching out to our target audience. We are thrilled to have received this investment from construction.com," says Jonathan Antevy, CEO of e-Builder. "Pairing our robust e-Builder technology with construction.com's online community and unparalleled industry content, helps streamline project management and introduce more efficiencies that everyone in the industry can benefit from."

e-Builder is an Internet-based communication tool that dramatically enhances the exchange of information among construction project participants. Designed to meet the needs of architecture, engineering and construction firms with projects valued over $1M, e-Builder is a complete turnkey solution that eliminates the need for expensive resources usually required in operating network-based applications. e-Builder also produces significant cost savings as compared to traditional project management approaches.

About construction.com

Construction.com is the industry marketplace that enables construction professionals to do their job faster, better and cheaper. Building on The McGraw-Hill Companies' heritage as the world's premier information provider to the $1.7 trillion commercial construction industry, construction.com uses the Internet platform to deliver industry intelligence and interactive solutions that help professional decision-makers to be more successful on the job. By leveraging the powerful content of The McGraw-Hill Companies' leading editorial brands, including F.W. Dodge, Sweet's Group, Engineering News-Record, Architectural Record, and Design-Build, construction.com integrates unmatched market intelligence, unique project management tools, and end-to-end access to the construction community. Construction.com is also working with Bentley Systems, Incorporated, on extending the service in support of open standards such as aecXML, a component description language specifically designed to bolster unrestricted collaboration between professionals in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. With its headquarters in New York City, construction.com employs more than 2,000 professionals around the world.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a global information services provider serving the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, Business Week and the McGraw-Hill educational imprint. The corporation has more than 400 offices in 32 countries. Sales in 1999 were $4.0 billion.

About e-Builder

e-Builder, Inc., headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, develops business-to-business Internet tools for the commercial construction industry. Its suite of products enable and enhance the exchange of information among construction industry participants and helps projects come in on time and on budget.

e-Builder is the pioneer of project centric Internet-based tools for construction and in 1995 was honored by Engineering News-Record, a respected publication of The McGraw Hill Companies, as one of the Top 25 Newsmakers of the year. e-Builder is sold worldwide direct and through its preferred partner network. Customers include: America Online, The Beck Group, Beers Construction, Columbia/HCA, HOK Architects, Lucent Technologies, NBBJ Sports Architects, Skanska USA, Swinerton & Walburg, Tishman Construction and more. For more information on e-Builder, visit the company's web site at www.e-builder.net. For sales information, call 1-800-580-9322 or e-mail [e-mail].

Visit www.construction.com for more information or contact:

William Jordan Director, Media Relations The McGraw-Hill Companies [phone] (office) [phone] (home) [phone] (cell) [e-mail] or Andy Maas GCI Group 777 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017 [phone] [e-mail]