Claus J. Moller Joins BLUM Capital Partners; BLUM Establishes New York Office.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 1999--

BLUM Capital Partners, L. P., a private investment partnership, today announced that Claus J. Moller, former managing director of AEA Investors, has joined the firm as managing partner. Mr. Moller will divide his time between San Francisco and a newly established office in New York.

BLUM Capital Partners, formerly known as Richard C. Blum & Associates, currently has over $2 billion of equity capital under management. The firm utilizes private equity and strategic block transactions to invest in both public and private companies. During the past twelve months, BLUM invested over $500 million of equity in a variety of transactions, including a $100 million convertible preferred investment in URS to support its acquisition of Dames & Moore, thereby creating the world's largest engineering services company; the leveraged buyout of SmarteCarte (world's largest operator of airport luggage carts and lockers); and the strategic block investment in Scott Technologies (world leader in commercial aviation oxygen systems).

Mr. Moller becomes BLUM's fourth managing partner. He joins Richard C. Blum, who founded the firm in 1975; N. Colin Lind, Blum's partner for the last 14 years; and Jeffrey W. Ubben. Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Blum said: "It is with great pleasure that we welcome Claus, who is a strong addition to our existing team. He brings more than 10 years experience in private equity investing and an exceptional network of relationships, and will be a great asset as we continue to build our firm."

Mr. Moller commented, "BLUM has a long and impressive record as a value added investor, partnering with management teams to generate superior returns. I believe the firm's unique ability to source proprietary investment opportunities in both the public and private markets is a significant competitive advantage. This flexible approach opens up a bigger universe of attractive investment opportunities and there are significant synergies between the two markets."

Prior to joining BLUM, Mr. Moller spent 10 years at New York-based AEA Investors where he was responsible for leveraged buyout investments and for EQT Partners, a $1.3 billion private equity firm sponsored jointly by AEA and the Wallenberg group of Sweden. Prior to AEA, Mr. Moller was an investment banking associate at Morgan Stanley in New York. Mr. Moller received his MBA from Harvard Business School and his Ph.D. degree in Economics from Aarhus University in Denmark.

BLUM's portfolio of 15 companies currently includes Playtex (leading consumer products company), Kinetic Concepts (leading provider of specialty hospital beds), Haemonetics (leading manufacturer of blood collection equipment), and Waddell & Reed (leading mutual fund company).

In addition to its U.S. activities, BLUM jointly owns Newbridge Capital (together with Texas Pacific Group), a $1 billion private equity firm with investments in Asia and Latin America. Newbridge recently announced the acquisition of 51% of Korea First Bank from the Government of South Korea.