THE DEAL UNVEILS ITS ANNUAL SELECTION OF PRIVATE CAPITAL DEALS OF THE YEAR

July 11, 2005-New York, N.Y.-The Deal, the business and financial newsweekly, (www.TheDeal.com), today offers its midyear review of private equity and venture capital deals in a special report that dissects the sector's most notable deals produced by private equity firms and venture capitalists in the U.S. and abroad. This week's issue is the magazine's most successful edition in terms of advertising, reflecting continued confidence in the deal market. Forty-five advertisers are showcased in the 76-page issue (see addendum).

Every year, The Deal's Private Capital Deals of the Year issue spotlights transactions with the greatest realizations or with the most unusual structures. This year's selection of private equity deals, for the period July 2004 to June 2005, highlights an array of exits executed at rich multiples. Amid all the unprecedented level of profit taking, the special report's editor, Vyvyan Tenorio, endeavored to find deals that captured the essence of the current private equity market.

As noted in the issue, private equity business boomed this year as buyout sponsors tapped the robust leveraged loan and high-yield debt markets to quickly award themselves fat payouts. Awash in equity and debt capital, private equity firms also swapped assets among themselves in secondary buyouts, or sponsor-to-sponsor buyouts that enabled sellers to quickly and profitably flip assets. The Deal reported more than 80 such secondary buyouts globally last year, roughly twice more than the previous year's.

Some of the year's more interesting examples of lucrative realizations resulted from tried and tested combinations of sound strategy, timing, managerial savvy and improvements in company performance: "the grind-'em-out approach." Venture capitalists were also some of the year's biggest winners.

In the report's stories about the selected transactions, The Deal's editors, senior writers and reporters indicate why each transaction made 2005's Private Capital Deals of the Year list:

Grand slam, by David Shabelman. Despite discounting shares, Google managed a phenomenally successful offering. A year later, the shares have more than tripled from their $85 per share offer price, enriching backers Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, as well as their limited partners.

Top bill, by Vyvyan Tenorio. Advent International Corp. and Providence Equity Partners Inc.'s consolidation of Denmark's telecom and data services provider, Mach S.a.r.l., took two and a half years, but the gains were eightfold.

What's an icon worth? by Vyvyan Tenorio. One Equity Partners acquired Polaroid's assets out of bankruptcy for $479 million, selling it two and a half years later and quintupling original investments.

Redemption, by David Carey. After investing a staggering amount of money in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., (the second highest in private equity), Kirk Kerkorian came away with insignificant gains, but a better reputation as an investor.

Comeback, sort of, by Peter Lauria. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's past bets have slashed his net worth in half. In a reversal of fortune, his roughly $700 million investment in DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. doubled; although the studio's per-share price is falling.

Healthcare is golden, by Jonathan Braude. Alchemy Partners LLP's $1.4 billion secondary buyout of Four Seasons Health Care Ltd., the U.K.'s largest private care home operator, was the biggest health deal in 2004 and among last year's most successful private equity exits in Britain.

Gas Guzzlers, Claire Poole. Warburg Pincus sold natural gas producer Antero Resources Corp. in January to Fort Worth oil explorer XTO Energy Inc. for $685 million in cash and stock, returning seven times of the private equity firm's investment.

Pipeline to profits, by Tara Croft. New Enterprise Associates, Domain Associates and Apax Partners, along with Thoma Cressey Equity Partners Inc. invested in biotechnology company ESP Pharma Inc. making back more than five times their cost when biotech Protein Labs Inc. acquired it in January for $475 million.

Offtakes, by Luisa Beltran. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Carlyle Group and Providence Equity Partners Inc. took satellite operator PamAmSat Holding Corp. private in a $4.1 billion leveraged buyout, making more than 3.5 times their cost in realized and unrealized gains.

A fortune in fashion, by Kelly Homan. When Federated Department Stores ended its ownership of Fingerhut, J.P. Morgan Partners folded the orphan assets into Crosstown Traders Inc. and fashioned a direct marketing enterprise. Charming Shoppers Inc. purchased the business for $218 million in cash, an internal rate of return of more than 90 percent for J.P. Morgan Partners.

Rag to riches, by Christine Idzelis. Blackstone Group LP and First Reserve Corp. formed Foundation Coal Holdings predicting surging gas prices would raise demand for coal. In less than five months, the investors took the coal producer public and made five times their initial investment.

Lofty vision, by Olaf de Senerpont Domis. Storm Ventures' bet on wireless provider Airespace Inc. proved to be the firm's best. When it exited, Storm grossed $100 million in proceeds, a 6.6 times return on its $15 million investment.

Twice is a charm, by Giles Parkinson. CVC Asia Pacific Ltd. and Ironbridge Capital Pty. Ltd. tripled their investment in private hospital operator Affinity Health Care Ltd., making it one of Australia's biggest and most profitable LBOs.

Addendum:
Alix Partners; Andrews & Kurth LLP; BBK Ltd.; Bingham McCutchen; Capital Source; Charlesbank Capital Partners; Churchill Capital; Crowe Chizek & Company; Edwards & Angell; Financial Dynamics; First Industrial Realty Trust; FTI Consulting; GE Global Financial Sponsorship Group; GE Retail Finance; General Atlantic Partners; Goodwin Procter; Harbour Group; Harris Williams; Haynes and Boone LLP; Herrick, Feinstein LLP; Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, LLP; Interface Software, Inc; Jefferies & Co. Inc.; Lazard; Lexington Properties Trust; Lockton Companies; Merrill Corporation; Merrill Lynch; Miller Mathis & Co.; New York Business Roundtable; Nolet Spirits USA (Ketel One Vodka); Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; Piper Jaffray; Rabobank International; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Realty Income Corp.; RR Donnelley; Schulte Roth & Zabel; TA Associates; Valuation Research; Walkers; Wells Fargo Foothill; William Blair & Company; W.P. Carey ; W.Y. Campbell & Company.