Boston, Massachusetts – (The Hosting News) – October 17, 2008 – Web hosting provider, Endurance International Group, with 600,000 subscription accounts worldwide and over one million domain names, has been sold to technology-focused private equity firm, Accel-KKR.

Under the terms of the transaction, Endurance’s Chief Executive Officer Steve Sydness, Executive Vice Presidents Hari Ravichandran and Thomas Gorny, together with their senior management team, will continue in their current roles. Endurance’s senior management team will continue to hold a significant equity stake in the company.

Geoffrey S. Rehnert, Co-CEO of Audax Group, noted, ”Steve Sydness and his team did an outstanding job working together with Audax to source and integrate 17 add-on acquisitions during our ownership period, building Endurance into a leader in the shared web hosting market. We wish Steve and his team continued success.”

Steve Sydness, Chief Executive Officer of Endurance added, ”It has been a great experience working with Audax Group. Their expertise in sourcing, executing, and integrating add-on acquisitions was a key to helping us grow our business. We look forward to continuing to build the business and retaining a significant equity stake in the company.”

Ben Bisconti, Managing Director of Accel-KKR, offered, ”Steve, Hari, Thomas and their senior management team have built the critical mass Endurance requires for continued rapid and profitable expansion, a highly scalable platform with which to facilitate this growth, and a unique infrastructure that allows Endurance to serve an increasing customer base with outstanding levels of service. The company has a strong track record of growing organically and through acquisitions and we believe it is uniquely positioned to continue doing so in this environment. This is a world-class team and a well-positioned business, and we are pleased to be investing in both.”

Based in Burlington, Massachusetts, Endurance is a provider of subscription-based, shared web site hosting and other online applications and services to individuals and small-to-medium sized businesses. With 24 branded properties, Endurance serves over 600,000 accounts worldwide. Audax, together with management, acquired the company in May 2003 and subsequently sourced and integrated 17 add-on acquisitions.

Ropes and Gray LLP advised Audax Group, while Piper Jaffray and Co. advised Endurance.

Mr. Sydness added, ”We are delighted to partner with Accel-KKR, a firm with a long track record of helping build great technology businesses, as we begin the next chapter of growth for our company. Over the years, we have worked diligently to build Endurance into a preeminent player in the online applications and services space. While we are proud of the leading brands and worldwide customer base we have developed, we are confident that the best is yet to come for our company – and for our customers. Our industry remains a highly fragmented one, in which we are well-positioned to continue our growth, both organically and through acquisitions. We look forward to working with Accel-KKR to achieve this end.”

Tom Barnds, Managing Director of Accel-KKR, added, ”At Accel-KKR, we are excited about the opportunity to work with Endurance in helping the company continue a remarkable track record of growth and industry leadership. We are in a tough economic environment, and we are pleased to be partnering with the Endurance management team in moving forward with a wellcapitalized strategy for continuing to build on the company’s leadership position.”

Audax Group, founded in 1999, is a leading investor in middle market companies. With offices in Boston and New York, Audax manages in excess of $4.3 billion of equity, mezzanine debt, and senior loan capital.

Accel-KKR is a technology-focused private equity firm with over $1 billion in assets under management. The firm invests primarily in technology-enabled businesses well positioned for top-line and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR’s investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value through the significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR has a particular focus on buyouts and recapitalizations of family-owned or closely-held private companies, divisional buyouts of larger companies, and going-private transactions. For more information, please visit www.accel-kkr.com.

The Endurance International Group, Inc. is a privately held provider of online applications and services, including: website creation, hosting and management; domain registration; communication tools; ecommerce services; online marketing and productivity enhancing applications. The Company is currently the fourth largest provider of website creation, hosting and management solutions in the world and ranks among the top 10 for domain names under management worldwide. Endurance targets different customer segments including small and medium-sized businesses, individual consumers, non-profits groups and large enterprises. Endurance supports multiple brands serving more than 600,000 subscription accounts worldwide and manages over one million domain names. Endurance was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Burlington, MA with a second office in Phoenix, AZ.

For more about Accel-KKR, please visit: www.accel-kkr.com.

To learn more, please visit: www.audaxgroup.com.

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