Golden Gate Capital announces $51 million investment in B-Line, LLC

SEATTLE, WA (December 18, 2003) – Golden Gate Capital announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to invest $51 million in B-Line LLC, a leading provider of consumer bankruptcy debt purchasing, processing and recovery services.

“Bill Weinstein is an industry visionary and entrepreneur and has built a leading business within the consumer bankruptcy services sector,” said Jesse Rogers, a Managing Director at Golden Gate. “The market for consumer bankruptcy debt is large and growing, which should continue to make B-Line’s proprietary recovery process an even more compelling value proposition to institutional credit issuers. Golden Gate is excited to be partnering with Bill and his team.”

Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company is a purchaser of secured and unsecured Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy debt from creditors. B-Line processes and recovers its purchased portfolios through proprietary software and systems. The company’s unique capabilities have made it the provider of choice for the complex and often legally intensive bankruptcy debt recovery and servicing process for many leading credit card and durable consumer goods creditors.

“Jesse and his Golden Gate team bring significant experience and valuable resources to B-Line,” said William S. Weinstein, founding CEO of B-Line. “We are pleased to be partnering with Golden Gate as we embark on an important stage in our company’s evolution.” The transaction will add growth capital into the business, enabling B-Line to expand its bankruptcy portfolio purchasing activity and positions Golden Gate as the largest single shareholder.

About Golden Gate Capital

Golden Gate Capital is a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with approximately $700 million of capital under management. Golden Gate is dedicated to partnering with world class management teams to invest in change-intensive, growth businesses. They target investments of up to $100 million in situations where there is a demonstrable opportunity to significantly enhance a company’s value. The principals of Golden Gate have a long and successful history of investing with management partners across a wide rage of industries and transaction types, including leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, corporate divestitures and spin-offs, build-ups and venture stage investing. For more information, visit www.goldengatecap.com.

About B-Line, LLC

B-Line is a leading provider of consumer bankruptcy debt purchasing, processing, and recovery services. The Company services Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy debt both for its own account and on an outsourced basis. B-Line is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.