Zurmont Madison Private Equity Acquires Majority Interest in CLS Communication AG

ZURICH--(Business Wire)--
Zurmont Madison Private Equity L.P. ("Zurmont Madison") has acquired a majority
interest in the leading language services provider CLS Communication AG ("CLS").
The deal consists of a partial buyout of the existing managing shareholders
combined with an increase in the company's equity. The funds will be used to
make further acquisitions and finance ongoing global expansion. On completion of
the transaction, the existing management team headed by CEO Doris Albisser will
hold a substantial minority interest.

CLS Communication was formed in 1997 as a spin-off from the language services
departments of Swiss Bank Corporation (now UBS) and Zurich Insurance and was
incorporated with registered office in Basel. Today CLS is a provider of
integrated multilingual communication services in its core areas of finance,
insurance, life sciences, telecommunications and legal. The company is one of
the 15 largest global language services providers and is the market leader in
Switzerland. A number of major companies have outsourced their language services
to CLS. As a provider of integrated multilingual communication and language
technology solutions, CLS offers a broad range of services. These include
copywriting and editing, human and machine translation, terminology databases as
well as integrated client applications. In 2008 the company posted sales of
around CHF 60 million with an internal headcount of 350 linguists and related
specialists. In addition to its own employees CLS has a global network of over
1600 external language specialists throughout the world. As a technology
innovator CLS employs state-of-the-art language technology and complies with the
most stringent banking confidentiality requirements.

Zurmont Madison's investment will secure the equity funding required to execute
the company's international growth strategy. The language services market is
extremely fragmented and therefore offers good expansion opportunities to a
leading provider with a strong capital base. As a result of the transaction, new
directors from Zurmont Madison Management AG, Zurich, will join the CLS board of
directors, which currently consists of Alfred Niederer, Markus Hildbrand and
Doris Albisser. The new members are Guido Patroncini, Andreas Ziegler and Michel
Hirschi. The company's operational management will remain in the hands of the
present executive team.

Guido Patroncini, founding partner of Zurmont Madison Management AG, said: "We
look forward to embarking on the next stages of growth together with the
successful CLS team. Zurmont Madison will offer financial backing as well as
support for the execution of a buy-and-build strategy."

Doris Albisser, CEO of CLS: "With Zurmont Madison we have found a shareholder
that fits well with CLS and is committed to long-term success. This capital
injection will enable us to continue and redouble our growth efforts. We look
forward to a successful and constructive partnership."

About Zurmont Madison Management AG
The private equity team of Zurmont Madison Management AG, Zurich,
(www.zurmontmadison.ch) has closed 17 private equity deals to date for a total
equity investment of CHF 375 million and is focused on equity financing for
corporate successions, MBOs and spin-offs of corporate groups in Switzerland,
Germany and Austria. The Zurmont Madison Private Equity L.P. fund, which is
advised exclusively by Zurmont Madison Management, has a volume of over CHF 250
million and currently holds two majority shareholdings: Röder Zeltsysteme und
Service AG in Germany and the Swiss company SMB SA in Ticino. Previous
transactions include succession arrangements for the Similor Group and Schlatter
Holding AG and the management buyout of Burckhardt Compression AG followed by
the company's subsequent IPO on SIX Swiss Exchange.

About CLS Communication
CLS Communication AG www.cls-communication.com is an international language and
technology services provider for multilingual communication in the fields of
finance, insurance, telecommunications, life sciences and legal. Headquartered
in Switzerland with 14 locations in Europe, the USA and Asia, the company
specialises in the production, translation and management of multilingual
documentation. Its client base includes some 1000 well-known global companies,
all of whom rely on their partnership with CLS Communication to enhance the
efficiency of their business communications on a long-term basis.

Zurmont Madison
Andreas Ziegler
Tel. +41-79-436-28-29
ziegler@zurmontmadison.ch
or
CLS Communication AG
Doris Albisser, CEO
Tel. +41-44-206-68-50
mediarelease_2009@cls-communication.com
or
Media Office
Dynamics Group AG
Tel. +41-43-268-32-30
vdg@dynamicsgroup.ch

Copyright Business Wire 2009