SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE^[1])–PitchBook Data, Inc., a trusted resource for research, data, and
technology for professionals in the private equity, venture capital, and
M&A markets, has raised $10 million in financing from existing investor Morningstar,
Inc.^[2], nearly doubling the strength of PitchBook’s balance sheet and
bringing Morningstar’s ownership stake to about 20%. This is the second
equity round for the nearly nine-year-old company, now valued at $160
million. The Seattle-headquartered company has otherwise been
revenue-funded, following a $4.25 million Series A round that closed in
2009. PitchBook has grown significantly and has generated positive cash
flow over the past five years. In 2015, sales rose more than 68% to $31
million, and the company is targeting similar growth in 2016.

“Our growth stems from the continued focus on providing our customers
with the best data, technology, and service in the industry,” John
Gabbert, PitchBook founder and CEO, said. “We believe that when our
customers have access to unparalleled private market information, they
are able to find more opportunities and make better, data-informed
decisions. We’re proud to have the continued support of Morningstar, a
trusted provider of investment research and data.”

Today, PitchBook has more than 1,400 customers—which include top-tier
private equity and venture capital firms and investment banks, as well
as a number of Fortune 500 companies, prominent institutional investors,
and other service providers. The company’s core product, the PitchBook
Platform, is a powerful database and research tool that enables users to
access and analyze details across the entire private investment
lifecycle—from fund initiation to company exit. This includes
comprehensive data on companies, investors, executives, and advisors, in
addition to hard-to-find information such as valuations, deal terms,
fund performance, and benchmarks.

The additional capital will further expand PitchBook’s data coverage and
fuel the development of additional features and product extensions. To
gather its data, PitchBook combines the collective intelligence of more
than 240 research professionals with powerful machine-learning and
natural language processing technologies. This is followed by a
stringent quality assurance and verification process that relies on
direct contact with the individuals and firms involved in these
transactions. Additionally, this financing will help to support
PitchBook’s growing teams in Seattle, New York, and London. The company
plans to hire more than 100 new employees this year, bringing its total
headcount to more than 600.

“Like Morningstar, PitchBook is demystifying a corner of the investment
landscape that is otherwise hard to access for many,” Kunal Kapoor,
president of Morningstar and member of PitchBook’s board of directors,
said. “PitchBook has a top-quality database, and we’ve been impressed
with the company’s dedication to accuracy, customer service, and
innovation—qualities we value highly at Morningstar.”

The full PitchBook Profile, which includes the company’s funding
history, deal details, and valuation has been made available on the PitchBook
Platform^[3].

About PitchBook:

PitchBook is the industry’s leading resource for meaningful information
about global M&A, PE and VC activity. PitchBook empowers clients to make
the most informed business decisions by providing them with the highest
quality information on the entire investment lifecycle through its
flagship product, the PitchBook Platform. This award-winning, web-based
platform features a powerful suite of integrated technology that meets
the diverse, data-driven needs of the private markets.

About Morningstar:

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment
research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company
offers an extensive line of products and services for individual
investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan
providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on more than 500,000
investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar
vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 17
million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious
metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets.
Morningstar also offers investment management services through its
investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than $170 billion in assets
under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2015. The company has
operations in 27 countries.