Circle Group Acquires Fiber-Gel Technologies, Inc., A Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of UTEK Corporation.Business Editors MUNDELEIN, Ill. & PLANT CITY, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 29, 2002 - Circle Group now owns exclusive rights to patented no-calorie fat substitute - Circle Group Internet, Inc. (OTC OTC See: Over-the-counter. OTC See over-the-counter market (OTC). BB: CRGQ) and UTEK Corporation (AMEX AMEX See: American Stock Exchange : UTK UTK University of Tennessee at Knoxville UTK Unreal Tournament Knights UTK Unit Tindak Khas (Malaysia police special action unit) ) announced today that Circle Group has acquired Fiber-Gel Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of UTEK. Fiber-Gel owns the exclusive, worldwide licensee to Z-Trim - an all-natural, carbohydrate-based fat replacement. Z-Trim is a new fat replacer that can be used to decrease fat and calories and increase insoluble fiber insoluble fiber, n one of three types of fiber, this group includes cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignins. Insoluble fiber creates a full feeling and helps to ease constipation. in foods. Developed by the United States Department of Agriculture's ("USDA USDA, n.pr See United States Department of Agriculture. "), Agricultural Research Service, Z-Trim is a fiber made from the hulls of oats oats, cereal plants of the genus Avena of the family Gramineae (grass family). Most species are annuals of moist temperate regions. The early history of oats is obscure, but domestication is considered to be recent compared to that of the other , soybeans, peas and rice or bran from corn or wheat. It may be used to replace fat and calories in a variety of products, including reduced-calorie cheeses, baked goods hamburger, salad dressings, peanut butter and confectionary products. "It's called Z-Trim because it has zero calories," said Z-Trim inventor George E. Inglett, Senior Research Scientist with USDA's Agricultural Research Service. "Z-Trim absorbs water and can be texture matched to a wide variety of foods to reduce calories and fat while increasing fiber content. By using Z-Trim, foods are designed to have desirable taste and mouth-feel properties similar to the full-fat foods. I believe the farmer, manufacturer and consumer may all benefit from the utilization of farm products to produce more nutritious and desirable food for the consumer." The target market for Z-Trim includes: dairy, bakery & cereal, confectionary, pasta & rice, snack foods, ground meats and nutritional beverages. According to The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based business research company - the demand for carbohydrate-based fat replacers will be approximately $360 million by 2004. While not yet available for commercial use, Circle Group intends to present Z-Trim to the United States Food and Drug Administration United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), n.pr a unit of the Public Health Service created to protect the health of the nation against impure and unsafe foods, drugs, and cosmetics. seeking GRAS GRAS - A public domain graph-oriented database system for software engineering applications from RWTH Aachen. (Substances Generally Recognized as Safe Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) is a United States of America Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designation that a chemical or substance added to food is considered safe by experts, and so is exempted from the usual Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) food ) distinction. In addition, Circle Group intends to leverage its contacts within the food industry to begin marketing efforts of Z-Trim immediately. "Z-Trim is a terrific opportunity for Circle Group and its shareholders," said Circle Group CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. & Chairman Gregory Halpern, about the acquisition, which was a result of Circle Group's strategic alliance with UTEK. "We have always taken an opportunistic viewpoint to our investments, and Z-Trim is quite possibly the best opportunity we have seen to-date. I am very excited about Z-Trim's potential and its marketability. I think Circle Group has the legs needed to make this product run." About Circle Group Founded in 1994, Circle Group (OTC BB: CRGQ) is a funding and consulting source for emerging companies. Through its wholly owned NASD-Registered broker-dealer, CGI CGI in full Common Gateway Interface. Specification by which a Web server passes data between itself and an application program. Typically, a Web user will make a request of the Web server, which in turn passes the request to a CGI application program. Capital, Inc., Circle Group offers companies various funding solutions. Circle Group also offers in-house digital design services and business consulting solutions. Circle Group was the first company to complete an entire end-to-end capital raising campaign over the Internet without assistance from the traditional investment banking community. About UTEK Corporation UTEK (R) is an innovative technology transfer company dedicated to building bridges between university and laboratory developed technologies and commercial organizations. UTEK identifies, licenses, and finances the further development of new technologies and then transfers them to growing companies for an equity stake. UTEK is a business development company. Certain matters discussed in this press release are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such because the context of the statement will include words such as the Company "expects," "anticipates" or words of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals are also forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including the financial performance of the Company and market valuations of its stock, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, the Company can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Shareholders, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements made herein are only made as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. |
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