Paddle8

Paddle8 is an online auction house based in New York City[1] selling fine art including Post-War and Contemporary art, prints & multiples, photography, street art and collectibles, founded in 2011 by Alexander Gilkes, Aditya Julka, and Osman Khan.[2] Paddle8's sales focus on pieces priced between $1,000 and $100,000, all vetted by specialists for authenticity.[3] Paddle8 has offices in New York, Los Angeles, London and Hong Kong.[4] In 2016, Paddle8 merged with the Berlin online auction house Auctionata.[5] In February 2017, Auctionata declared insolvency and Paddle8 became an independent company once again.[6]

History

Paddle8 was founded in May 2011 by Alexander Gilkes (a former LVMH executive and the chief auctioneer at Phillips auction house), Aditya Julka (an entrepreneur and Harvard Business School Baker Scholar), and Osman Khan (a banker with experience at Goldman Sachs and Perella Weinberg Partners and a Harvard Business School MBA).

Initially created as a broad platform for presenting exhibitions of contemporary art online,[7] Paddle8 refined its business model to focus solely on auctions. Paddle8 connects buyers and sellers of fine art, collectibles, design, jewelry, and watches through an online auction platform and an iPhone app. In 2014, Paddle8 sold more than $35.8 million worth of art, a 146% gain over the previous year.[8]

Since its founding, Paddle8 has also partnered with over 300 non-profit organizations worldwide, from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Guggenheim, to present their benefit auctions online, dramatically expanding their audience of supporters by tapping into Paddle8's community of 500,000 collectors. By January 2015, Paddle8 had presented more than 500 benefit auctions.

In 2012, Paddle8 acquired online auction platform Blacklots.[9] In May 2013, Paddle8 acquired an option to purchase a stake in Artnet[10]

In June 2013, it was announced that Princess Eugenie would be working at Paddle8 in the fall.[11]

Funding

By October 2015, Paddle8 had raised $44 million from leaders from across the art, luxury, media, and tech industries.[12] Paddle8's $4-million Series A round was led by Founder Collective [13][14] and Mousse Partners.[15][16]

In June 2013, Paddle8 announced $6 million in funding from new investors, including artist Damien Hirst, Alexander von Fürstenberg, Russian mogul Vladimir Yevtushenkov, Matthew Mellon, and Jay Jopling, owner of White Cube.[4][17][18]

In October 2015, Paddle8 announced $34 million in Series C funding. New investors represented an array of notable figures from the worlds of technology, art and luxury, including newest Paddle8 board member David Zwirner, one of the most influential international art dealers; German collector and investor Rolf Sachs; Eric Fellner, co-chairman of Working Title Films; and Edgar Berger, Chairman and CEO International of Sony Music Entertainment. The round also saw participation from existing investors including Mousse Partners, Damien Hirst, Jay Jopling of White Cube Gallery; and Stavros Niarchos, a collector and entrepreneur.[19]

Benefit auctions

Paddle8 also partners with non-profit institutions to host their benefit auctions online, opening up their fundraising prospects to Paddle8's global community of collectors. As of January 2015, Paddle8 had raised more than $33 million for non-profit organizations around the world.[20]

Merger with Auctionata

In May 2016, Paddle8 and Berlin-based online auction platform Auctionata announced that they would merge, creating a company with more specialties and broader international reach.[21] In September 2016 the joint company announced the appointment of a new CEO, Thomas Hesse.[22] In February 2017, Auctionata declared insolvency and Paddle8 became an independent company once again,[6] with two of Paddle8's co-founders Alexander Gilkes and Osman Khan leading a buy back of the company backed by private equity[23] from a multi-family office called Lightyear Collective, which was incorporated in Delaware only in January 2017 and its members were not disclosed, but are known to include Christopher Hsu, the hedge fund manager who runs the Hong Kong-based Kilometre Capital Management.[24]

References

  1. ↑ https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=163918872
  2. ↑ Bendjouia, Alexis. "How Online Platforms Like Paddle8 Are Changing Art Auctions". Hamptons Magazine. Hamptons. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Paddle8 | CrunchBase Profile". Crunchbase.com. 2012-02-08. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  4. 1 2 Kinsella, Eileen (2013-06-06). "Paddle8 Nets $6 Million From Team of Investors Including Damien Hirst". Blouin Artinfo. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  5. ↑ https://news.artnet.com/market/post-merger-auctionata-paddle-8-679388
  6. 1 2 http://observer.com/2017/01/auctionata-files-for-insolvency-investor-will-spin-off-paddle8-top-brass/
  7. ↑ https://techcrunch.com/2012/02/08/founder-collective-makes-a-4-million-bet-on-paddle8s-online-marketplace-for-fine-art/
  8. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2015/11/23/the-art-of-the-dealing-inside-paddle8-bid-to-become-the-internet-auction-house/#4db79e267bac
  9. ↑ "Overtime: Nov 26 – Dec 2 « Arrested Motion". Arrestedmotion.com. 2012-12-02. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  10. ↑ Paddle8's co-founders Aditya Julka and Alexander Gilkes (2013-05-20). "Paddle8 moves to buy stake in Artnet". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  11. ↑ Richard Kay (2013-06-21). "Independent Princess Eugenie goes it alone with auction house job in the U.S. | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  12. ↑ de la Merced, Michael (October 28, 2015). "Online Auction House Aims to Give Big Houses a Run for Their Money". New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  13. ↑ Wednesday, February 8th, 2012 (2012-02-08). "Founder Collective Makes A $4 Million Bet On Paddle8′s Online Marketplace For Fine Art". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  14. ↑ "Paddle8 raises $4M series A led by Founder Collective to bring fine art online". VentureBeat. 2012-04-27. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  15. ↑ Ferro, Shane (2013-04-04). "Art Site Auctionata Nabs $20.2 Million in Venture Capital, Is Selling a Schiele". Blouin Artinfo. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  16. ↑ "Art collectors buying more online". Telegraph. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  17. ↑ Kolodny, Lora. "With Damien Hirst Backing, Paddle8 Aims to Do for Fine Art What StubHub Does for Tickets - Wall Street Journal - WSJ.com". Stream.wsj.com. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  18. ↑ Friday, June 14th, 2013 (2013-06-14). "With Big-Name Backing And Some eBay Flavor, These Startups Are Looking To Shake Up The Art Market". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  19. ↑ Sorkin, Andrew Ross. "Paddle8's plans to disrupt auctions". CNBC. CNBC. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  20. ↑ "An Art Auction Site Tries a Charity Model - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. 2012-12-13. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  21. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/12/business/dealbook/2-online-art-auctioneers-to-merge-and-go-global.html
  22. ↑ https://news.artnet.com/art-world/auctionata-paddle-8-announce-new-ceo-630326
  23. ↑ https://www.ft.com/content/e4d3ab4e-f9ac-11e6-bd4e-68d53499ed71
  24. ↑ "Subscribe to read". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
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