Cooking.com Receives $7 Million in Financing to Expand Operations & Market Presence

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Cooking.com, a privately-held internet marketplace and community for the kitchen, announced today that it has entered into a $7 million loan agreement with ORIX Venture Finance. The venture debt credit facilities will be used by Cooking.com to expand operations, enhance its community content, and support continued acceleration of its private label online programs.

"We are very excited about establishing a long term relationship with ORIX and believe the company will be the ideal financing partner to help us achieve our growth goals in 2008 and beyond," commented Tracy Randall, Founder & President.

The DiBari Group, LLC acted as advisor for the Company in connection with this transaction.

"We were delighted to have worked with the Cooking.com team in putting this financing together which will enable the company to accelerate growth and further its leadership position in the online cooking market," commented Rob Winkelmann, Managing Partner and CEO of the DiBari Group.

About Cooking.com

Cooking.com was founded in 1998 and is based in Santa Monica, CA. As the leading online marketplace for kitchen and house wares, Cooking.com operates six uniquely branded websites: Cooking.com, FoodNetworkStore.com, StarbucksStore.com, KitchenEtc.com, PillsburyStore.com, and BettyCrockerStore.com. Cooking.com offers its customers over 90,000 products for the kitchen as well as recipes, menus, articles and a growing library of user-generated cooking content and online tools. Cooking.com is committed to providing customers with an exceptional experience and is the recipient of the 2006 i.Merchant Gold award for overall excellence as an online retailer.

About The DiBari Group, LLC

The DiBari Group is a financial advisory and consulting firm dedicated to procuring debt capital for both public and private companies in various stages of development. The firm has supported high growth companies for over 10 years with an emphasis in media, communication, software, technology, healthcare and life sciences. For more information, visit http://www.dibarigroup.com.

About ORIX Venture Finance

ORIX Venture Finance provides enterprise financing to mid- and late-stage venture-capital-backed companies via acquisition financing, expansion capital, working-capital term loans and credit lines, and equity co-investments. The Venture Finance team, staffed with highly seasoned venture lending professionals, meets the challenges facing growth companies by structuring flexible financing packages that meet their unique needs. ORIX is a stable and reliable partner dedicated to supporting the growth and success of professionally backed companies with a range of debt products. For more information, visit http://www.orixventurefinance.com.