Golden Gate Capital Completes Acquisition of Haband

Business Wire, Oct 31, 2006

Haband to Join Catalog Holdings' Family of Leading Men's and Women's Specialty Retail Brands.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden Gate Capital announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Haband, Inc., a leading specialty retailer targeting the rapidly growing 50 aging baby boomer market. Haband is one of America's oldest and largest direct mail and online marketers of value-priced men's and women's comfortable casual apparel, shoes and practical home items. The acquisition was completed by Golden Gate's portfolio company, Catalog Holdings Inc., which, with annual revenues in excess of $1 billion, is one of the largest direct retailers in the nation. In addition to Haband, Catalog Holdings owns Spiegel, Newport News, Carabella, AB Lambdin, Norm Thompson, Solutions, Sahalie, Appleseed's, Draper's & Damon's and The Tog Shop.

Haband, founded in 1925 by the Habernickel family, is headquartered in Oakland, New Jersey and will continue to operate at its current locations including its Distribution Center in Eatonton, Georgia, its Call Center in Athens Georgia and its mail processing center in Peckville, PA.

"We are very excited to welcome Haband to the Catalog Holdings family of women's and men's apparel and specialty brands," said Stefan Kaluzny, a Managing Director at Golden Gate Capital. "With the addition of Haband, we have significantly increased our offerings to the aging baby boomer demographic and are now the largest direct retailer serving this rapidly growing segment of the population. Furthermore, the addition of Haband to our ten existing titles creates ever greater opportunities for each to benefit from the scale and expertise of the group."

"This is a very exciting time and a very positive partnership for Haband, our customers and our many dedicated employees," added Duke Habernickel, Chairman of Haband. "With Golden Gate's financial backing and expertise in direct marketing and specialty retail, we have found an excellent partner for the future. We look forward to being a part of this great family of brands, and to continuing to offer the excellent merchandise and customer service that our loyal customers have come to expect through our more than 80 years of history."

Following the successful acquisitions of Newport News in June, 2004, Spiegel in July, 2004, Appleseed's and Draper's & Damon's in November, 2005, Norm Thompson, Solutions and Sahalie in March, 2006, Carabella and AB Lambdin in September, 2006 and now Haband, Golden Gate Capital has become one of the leading investors in the men's and women's specialty retail market, with a focus on the direct channel. While each title will continue to operate independently, there exist significant opportunities for each to benefit from being part of an industry-leading portfolio. Golden Gate continues to seek additional acquisitions of similar brands.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Golden Gate Capital

Golden Gate Capital is a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with approximately $2.5 billion of capital under management. Golden Gate Capital is dedicated to partnering with world-class management teams to invest in change-intensive, growth businesses. Golden Gate targets investments in situations where there is a demonstrable opportunity to significantly enhance a company's value. The principals of Golden Gate Capital have a long and successful history of investing with management partners across a wide range of industries and transaction types. For more information, please visit www.goldengatecap.com.

About Haband

Haband Company, Inc. was founded in 1925 and is one of America's oldest and largest direct mail and online marketers of value-priced men's and women's comfortable, casual apparel, shoes and practical home items. The Company sells directly to moderate- and middle-income Americans over 50 years old using a coordinated combination of weekly mailings, print advertising in newspapers and magazines, catalogs, the Haband.com web site, and three retail stores. The Company is headquartered in Oakland, New Jersey, and has operations in Eatonton and Athens, Georgia and in Peckville, Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit www.haband.com