Leeds Weld & Co. Acquires Miller Heiman Inc.; General Electric Pension Trust and CIT Co-Invest with Leeds Weld

Business Wire, June 4, 2005

NEW YORK & RENO, Nev. -- Leeds Weld & Co., the New York-based private equity firm focused on investments in knowledge industries, and Miller Heiman Inc., a global provider of sales effectiveness solutions, today announced Leeds Weld's acquisition of Miller Heiman. General Electric Pension Trust and CIT co-invested with Leeds Weld. Financial details were not disclosed.

For the past 27 years, Miller Heiman has been offering solutions that enable Fortune 1000 customers to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. The company has trained more than 500,000 sales professionals, conducted more than 10,000 engagements, and published more than 1 million books and publications. In 2004 alone, the company served more than 500 companies from diverse sectors such as health care, consumer products, information technology, business services and financial services.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Leeds Weld. Leeds Weld's expertise and experience in training, information and education is unmatched in the financial sponsor universe, and will help us continue to deliver to our global customers," said Sam Reese, president and CEO, Miller Heiman. "This partnership will further strengthen our ability to drive international growth, continue to develop the solutions required in today's marketplace and continue to fulfill our mission to be the most trusted resource to sales leaders."

Jeffrey T. Leeds of Leeds Weld & Co. added, "Miller Heiman is the market leader in sales training with extraordinary products and services. We look forward to working with Sam and his team."

About Leeds Weld

Leeds Weld & Co. is a New York-based private equity firm which manages the largest private equity fund in the United States focused on investments in the education, information and training industry ("knowledge industries"). Since its founding in 1993, the firm, through its various investment partnerships, has raised and managed approximately $650 million of committed capital and invested in more than 20 companies.

The firm was founded in 1993 by Leeds and Robert A. Bernstein. The board of advisors of Leeds Weld & Co. is chaired by the Hon. Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City. It includes, among others, Dr. Rod Paige, former secretary of education under President George W. Bush; Richard Riley, former secretary of education and two-term governor of South Carolina; Thomas F. McLarty III, vice chairman of Kissinger McLarty Associates; and Barry Munitz, president of the J. Paul Getty Trust in Santa Monica, Calif., and former chancellor of the California State University system.

About Miller Heiman

Miller Heiman Inc. is a global sales training and consulting company. The company was founded in 1978 on the principle that a nonmanipulative, process-driven approach to selling leads to greater success. Since then, the company has extended its Strategic Selling(R) concept into a comprehensive range of training, employee development, and consulting services, including Conceptual Selling(R), Large Account Management Process (LAMP)(R), Executive Impact(R), and Predictive Sales Performance(R). In addition, the company publishes industry-leading research including the Sales Effectiveness Study, an annual report on issues important to corporate sales leaders, and the Sales Performance Index, a quarterly sales market indicator.

Customers include world-class sales organizations such as KLA-Tencor, BAX Global, Marriott Corp., Dow Chemical, Pepsi, Schwab Institutional and Wells Fargo. Headquartered in Reno, Nev., Miller Heiman has offices located throughout the world. More information can be obtained by visiting the company's Web site at www.millerheiman.com or by calling 877-552-1747.