By: Charles Geraci CityXpress Corp., a provider of technology for newspaper auctions, announced today that it has obtained a $2 million equity investment from Knight Ridder. The company's shareholders approved the transaction at an annual meeting in May.
The corporation also announced that Lee Enterprises, a long-time investor in CityXpress, has converted its remaining loans and interest to common shares of the company. On April 9, 2004, Lee changed its convertible debentures into common shares of CityXpress.
"This financing is a strong endorsement of our strategy and position in the marketplace," said CityXpress CEO Phil Dubois, in a statement. "It gives us the resources to aggressively accelerate our growth over the coming years through strong strategic partnerships with Knight Ridder, the second largest newspaper company in the United States, and Lee Enterprises, a long-time investor in CityXpress and a leading publisher in mid-sized markets."
CityXpress conducted its first online newspaper auction in 2001. Since then, it has held more than 200 auctions and has generated about $46 million for newspapers in the last two years.
"CityXpress has outperformed our expectations in quickly becoming the leading provider of newspaper online auctions," said Mike Petrak, vice president of marketing for Knight Ridder. "We look forward to partnering with the company to launch new auction platforms across our markets, benefiting both advertisers and consumers."
Knight Ridder will take two seats on the CityXpress board of directors.
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