Odyssey Investment Partners Closes $750 Million Investment Fund

Business Wire, March 31, 2005

NEW YORK -- Odyssey Investment Partners LLC ("Odyssey") today announced the closing of Odyssey Investment Partners Fund III, LP ("Fund III"), a $750 million private equity fund formed to pursue control investments and management buyouts of established middle-market companies with operations predominantly in the United States. Capital commitments for Fund III were secured from a number of leading institutional investors, including corporate and state pension funds, university endowments, foundations, financial institutions and asset managers.

Fund III will be led by the Managing Principals of Odyssey: Stephen Berger (Chairman), Muzzi Mirza, Brian Kwait, William Hopkins, Douglas Rotatori and Douglas Hitchner. This team has led Odyssey's successful investment program during the last decade and will build on the firm's experience acquiring businesses in the industrial manufacturing, business services and financial services sectors. Odyssey typically invests in companies with EBITDA in the range of $20 million to $60 million and, within the firm's target sectors, particular areas of focus include aerospace, equipment rental, environmental services, insurance services, healthcare services, general industrial, energy equipment and supply chain management. Odyssey's previous fund closed in 1998 and became fully invested in 2004.

Mr. Berger said: "My partners and I are very pleased by the considerable interest in Fund III shown by a diverse group of institutional investors, many of whom are investing with Odyssey for the first time. We are grateful for their confidence in our investment team and strategy. All of us at Odyssey are focused on deploying the capital entrusted to us to capitalize on the significant opportunities to generate attractive returns in our target sectors."

Fund III's first investment, the acquisition of Pro Mach, Inc., was completed on December 14, 2004. Pro Mach is a leading North American designer, manufacturer and marketer of packaging machinery and related aftermarket parts, service and consumables. Pro Mach sells a wide variety of packaging applications into a diverse set of end-markets such as food, beverage and pharmaceutical. The company generates annual revenues of more than $160 million.

Credit Suisse First Boston arranged for the private placement of limited partnership interests for Odyssey Investment Partners Fund III, LP.

Odyssey Investment Partners LLC, based in New York, is a leading middle-market private equity firm with more than $1.2 billion under management. In addition to Pro Mach, its current portfolio companies include Aviation Technologies, Inc., Dayton Superior Corporation, Dresser, Inc., US Unwired, Inc., United Site Services, Inc., and Williams Scotsman Inc. For more information about Odyssey, please visit www.odysseyinvestment.com.