Staples.com Invests in Bizbuyer.com

Staples.com made a 10 percent investment in
BizBuyer.com and formed a strategic
alliance with the company to deliver the latter’s quote request service to
Staples.com business customers.

The companies will create an e-marketplace on Staples.com where customers can
buy and sell business products and services using BizBuyer’s buyer-driven
quote request service.

Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.

“This investment is a critical building block in establishing Staples.com as
the small business destination on the Web,” said Jeanne Lewis, president of
Staples.com. “BizBuyer.com was the clear partner of choice.”

Through BizBuyer.com, buyers and sellers are brought together through an
online, business-to-business marketplace that allows small- to-medium-sized
businesses to put their product and service needs out for competitive bid to
qualified vendors.

Businesses can review buying guides, compare customized
quotes and view vendor profiles and ratings from other buyers before making a
purchasing decision. BizBuyer.com has
more than 20,000 vendors registered to bid throughout 57 product and service
categories,

As part of the agreement, Staples.com will be the exclusive office supplies
provider on BizBuyer.com and Lewis will serve on BizBuyer.com’s board of
directors.