New Direction Partners and WhatTheyThink Present Timely Presentation on Mergers and Acquisitions in the Printing Industry

Industry Experts and New Direction Partners Peter Schaefer and Jeff Riback Share Expertise at Print CEO Forum

Lexington, Kentucky USA -- WhatTheyThink.com today announced that industry experts Peter J. Schaefer and Jeff Riback, Partners of New Direction Partners, will be presenting at the second annual Print CEO Forum scheduled for October 2nd and 3rd, 2010, in Chicago. This printer-only event is sponsored by manroland. Limo transportation to McCormick Place for Graph Expo will be provided on October 3rd. Registration details can be found at http://printceoforum.com.

"While the number of mergers and acquisitions in the printing industry spiked in the late 1990s, we are still seeing in the range of 50 deals annually in a contracting industry, and the number appears to be on the rise again," said Schaefer. "Certainly, the size of many of the deals has increased and there is more focus on specialty companies."

Schaefer will address the following topics during the session:

• Current Trends in Printing M&A - EBITDA multiples, tuck-ins, cashless mergers
• What Determines Value?
• Consolidation - Why It Is Attractive to Buyers
• What's Attractive (and What's Not) to Buyers

In addition, Riback will share his experiences in owning and running a printing company. He will present, from an owners perspective, the process for acquiring or selling a company and what you need to focus on to have a successful transaction, including:

• Strategy for the transaction
• Identifying target companies
• Conducting a preliminary review
• Valuation
• Negotiation
• Due diligence
• Financing
• Go or no go decision making

"We are extremely pleased that New Direction Partners is partnering with us to present this very important educational session," said Randy Davidson, President, WhatTheyThink. "Attendees will be able to benefit from hearing what Schaefer and Riback have to say about the role of mergers and acquisitions in today's unsettled economic climate and how such actions may be the answer for some businesses."

To register for the event and for more details, visit PrintCEOForum.com. WhatTheyThink will be communicating further details as they are available via press release, the Forum's web site and other means.

"While this is a printer-only event," said Davidson, "we are pleased that manroland has agreed to be our sponsor this year, allowing us to grow this exclusive event and make it even more valuable to attendees than last year."

About WhatTheyThink.com

WhatTheyThink is the printing and publishing industry's leading media organization; offering a wide range of publications delivering unbiased, real-time market intelligence, industry news, economic and trend analysis, peer-to-peer communication, and special reports on emerging technology and critical events. WhatTheyThink also hosts webinars and live events as well as providing content through a syndication program, which delivers content directly to related websites.

About Peter Schaefer

Peter Schaefer is an experienced dealmaker with more than twenty years of investment banking and valuation experience. He has closed more than one hundred transactions in virtually every segment of the printing/packaging industry as well as the sale of a $75 million helicopter company and a $10 million bread manufacturer. In addition, he has performed hundreds of valuations for ESOPs, estate and gift tax planning and strategic planning purposes.

Other transactions include the sale of Highcrest Media to Courier Corporation, the sale of Acme Printing to Universal Millennium, the sale of T/O Printing to Consolidated Graphics, the sale of Delta Printing Solutions to Bang Printing, the divestiture of Media General's Beacon Press to Cadmus Communications, the sale of Midwest Bank Note to an international conglomerate and the purchase of Charette from Pitman.

Prior to New Direction Partners, Schaefer worked for fifteen years at Compass Capital Partners, having served most recently as its President. Prior to that, he worked in the investment banking and valuation departments of KPMG Peat Marwick in New York City and Coopers & Lybrand in Philadelphia.

Schaefer received a BS in Economics and Political Science from Trinity College and an MBA from Villanova University. He is a Candidate Member of the American Society of Appraisers and is a member of the printing/packaging industry's prestigious Soderstrom Society. Peter is married to Kathleen and they have six children.

About Jeff Riback

Jeff Riback has created value as an entrepreneur, a senior print industry executive, and consultant, and has helped investors and principals realize exceptional rewards.

As Principal and CEO of Data Communiqué International, a provider of automated publishing technology, document production and distribution, Riback turned a company with $8 million in revenue and an EBITDA loss of $3.5 million into a $50 million company with $7.5 million in EBITDA and an investor internal rate of return of 101 percent. He transformed the company from a commodity based, print and mailing production platform to a technology driven organization that used publishing automation technology to drive revenue. Riback's company had 200 employees and grew rapidly both organically and through strategic acquisitions. It was named one of the industry's fastest growing companies by American Printer for two consecutive years. As an entrepreneur, Riback has experience in acquiring and selling companies.

As Senior Vice President of Sales and Operations for RR Donnelley's Capital Markets Division, Riback was responsible for a global organization of 125 sales representatives, seven printing plants and 40 production service centers. Under Riback's leadership, revenue grew from $125 million to $250 million in four years. His division penetrated new markets including London, Hong Kong and major US financial centers.

Riback has a Bachelor of Science in Communication from Boston University and an MBA in Marketing from The George Washington University. He lives in New Jersey with his wife Marion. They have two grown children