RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Harris Williams, a global investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, announces that it advised LiveAuctioneers LLC (LiveAuctioneers), a portfolio company of Bessemer Venture Partners (Bessemer) and Jason Finger, on its controlling investment by Cove Hill Partners (Cove Hill). LiveAuctioneers is an online live-auction source for fine and decorative art, antiques, jewelry and vintage collectibles. The transaction was led by Mike Wilkins, Erik Szyndlar, Brian Titterington and Jay Petrie of Harris Williams’ Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT) Group.
“LiveAuctioneers’ curated online marketplace and auction technology solutions provide immense value to its customers,” said Mike Wilkins, a managing director at Harris Williams. “By instantly expanding the number of bidders participating in an auction, LiveAuctioneers helps auction houses grow sales and improve efficiency.”
“Over the past four years since Brian Feinstein of Bessemer and Jason have been involved, the company re-architected its core technology platform and made deep investments in building out its team, greatly improving operations and creating a highly-scalable business,” added Erik Szyndlar, a director at Harris Williams. “We are proud to have worked with exceptional management on this transaction and are excited to see the company continue to grow and innovate.”
“Every member of our Harris Williams team provided world class counsel on this transaction. Their analytical rigor sharpened our thinking about our own business,” said Finger, former executive chairman of LiveAuctioneers. “Harris Williams was a true strategic partner that added tremendous value through both advice and insights during every phase of the process.”
LiveAuctioneers digitally connects an audience of millions with the live-bidding action at more than 5,000 premier auction houses and galleries in 59 countries, providing an expertly curated, globally trusted marketplace of exceptional items. LiveAuctioneers is a leading, live online-auction source for fine and decorative art, antiques, jewelry and vintage collectibles. A pioneer in mobile-bidding technology, LiveAuctioneers opened new horizons for bidders with its development of both an industry-leading app for iOS (Apple) devices and the first live-auction bidding app for Android.
Bessemer is one of the world's most experienced early-stage venture capital firms. With a portfolio of more than 200 companies, Bessemer helps visionary entrepreneurs lay strong foundations to create companies that matter, and supports them through every stage of their growth. The firm has backed more than 120 IPOs, including Pinterest, Shopify, Yelp, LinkedIn, Skype, LifeLock, Twilio, PagerDuty, SendGrid, DocuSign, Wix and MindBody. Bessemer's 15 investing partners operate from offices in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Israel and India.
Jason Finger was executive chairman of LiveAuctioneers and co-founder and CEO of Seamless (NYSE:GRUB). He assists management teams to accelerate growth, generally in connection with a majority or minority investment. His portfolio includes Upper90.io, Betterment, Bowery Farming, Clearbanc, Freshly, InvisionApp, Procore, Slice, Stone Ridge Holdings, Thras.io, WeWork and YipitData.
Cove Hill is a long-term-oriented private equity firm focused on partnering with outstanding management teams to build market-leading technology and consumer companies. The firm manages a long-duration fund with over $1 billion of commitments from its investors and founders. The firm was founded in 2017 by seasoned private equity investors to invest their personal capital alongside a small group of like-minded investors. Based in Boston, Cove Hill has an innovative structure that provides the flexibility to enable a patient, concentrated and value-added approach in a small portfolio of long-term investments.
Harris Williams, an investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, advocates for sellers and buyers of companies worldwide through critical milestones and provides thoughtful advice during the lives of their businesses. By collaborating as one firm across Industry Groups and geographies, the firm helps its clients achieve outcomes that support their objectives and strategically create value. Harris Williams is committed to execution excellence and to building enduring, valued relationships that are based on mutual trust. Harris Williams is a subsidiary of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC).
Harris Williams’ TMT Group advises leading private and public companies, entrepreneurs, private equity firms and venture capital firms on mergers and acquisitions and capital-raising transactions worldwide. The TMT Group has deep domain expertise in the Software/SaaS and Internet & Digital Media segments, with particular emphasis on specific verticals including education technology, data analytics, energy technology, fintech, public sector, and supply chain/logistics—with a dedicated healthcare technology (HCIT) practice. Across verticals, the firm also advises technology services and networking solutions businesses. For more information on the TMT Group and its recent transactions, visit the TMT Group’s section of the Harris Williams website.
Harris Williams LLC is a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is a private limited company incorporated under English law with its registered office at 5th Floor, 6 St. Andrew Street, London EC4A 3AE, UK, registered with the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales (registration number 07078852). Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH is registered in the commercial register of the local court of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, under HRB 107540. The registered address is Bockenheimer Landstrasse 33-35, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (email address: hwgermany@harriswilliams.com). Geschäftsführer/Directors: Jeffery H. Perkins, Paul Poggi. (VAT No. awaited). Harris Williams is a trade name under which Harris Williams LLC, Harris Williams & Co. Ltd and Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH conduct business.
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