Harris Williams Advises LiveAuctioneers LLC on its Controlling Investment by Cove Hill Partners

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.

For media inquiries, please contact Katie Langemeier, associate brand
manager, at +1 (804) 915-0179.

Contacts

Katie Langemeier, associate brand manager
+1 (804) 915-0179