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August 09, 2000
First Union eVentures Group Participates in Second Round Financing for BondDesk.com, LLC
CHARLOTTE - First Union Corporation's eVentures Group announced today that it is participating in a second round of financing for BondDesk.com, LLC ("BondDesk"). In conjunction with this announcement, First Union will become a participant in BondDesk's online taxable and municipal bond marketplace that BondDesk will operate through its broker-dealer subsidiaries. Tom Hoops, Investment Partner with First Union's eVentures Group, will serve on BondDesk's Board of Managers.
"Our investment confirms our belief in BondDesk's business model and the benefits it provides investment professionals," said Don MacLeod, Executive Vice President and Head of First Union's eVentures Group. "BondDesk's experienced management team has assembled a significant group of strategic partners which will provide a high degree of liquidity to the fixed income market."
BondDesk develops software and related system support, enabling broker-dealers to offer their customers online trading and research for fixed income securities. BondDesk and its subsidiaries provide a complete, online trading platform servicing both traditional and online broker-dealers to create a centralized, integrated and efficient bond marketplace.
"The addition of BondDesk's new investors and participants serves as an incredible endorsement of the benefits that it provides broker-dealers," said Charles Almond, Chief Executive Officer of BondDesk.
Used in conjunction with the online trading e-Brokerage effort at First Union, this strategic alliance with BondDesk will have numerous benefits to First Union brokers and traders. BondDesk will enhance First Union's fixed income marketplace by improving access to information, eliminating structural and geographic boundaries and streamlining the decision-making process.
"The need for a centralized and executable trading environment has clearly been recognized and we are excited to be providing the individual investor bond market with a solution to the inefficiency and fragmentation that has long inhibited its growth," said Brad Wendt, President and Chief Operating Officer of BondDesk.
First Union's eVentures Group makes strategic investments in emerging Internet-related technology companies. This enables First Union to gain early or exclusive access to new technologies and markets, expand Internet products and services, and increase its web presence and distribution channels.
About BondDesk.com
BondDesk is a privately held company offering broker-dealers a complete fixed income software solution that enhances both the efficiency and accessibility of the taxable and tax-exempt bond markets. BondDesk's breadth of service is the result of a merger between BondDesk, an Internet-based provider of retail fixed income trading software, and MuniGroup.com, an industry-wide online municipal bond marketplace. BondDesk's Board of Managers encompasses representatives from the following companies: The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), BondExchange LLC, PaineWebber Group, Inc. (NYSE:PWJ), and Spear, Leeds & Kellogg. Most recently, Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., Prudential Securities, Inc., A.G. Edwards, Pershing Division of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corporation, First Union eVentures, and Bank of America have joined the Board. Based in New York City with additional software development and technical support in Rochester Hills, Michigan, the BondDesk team has approximately 50 employees. BondDesk has two broker-dealer subsidiaries, BondDesk Trading based in New Jersey and MuniGroup.com based in New York.
About First Union
First Union (NYSE: FTU), with $258 billion in assets and stockholders' equity of $14 billion at June 30, 2000, is a leading provider of financial services to 15 million retail and corporate customers throughout the East Coast and the nation. The company operates full-service banking offices in 12 East Coast states and Washington, D.C., and full-service brokerage offices in 41 states and international offices worldwide. Online banking products and services can be accessed through www.firstunion.com.
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