KJK Represents Weinberg & Bell Group in PRACS Recapitalization

"We are delighted to be partnering with WBG and the PRACS Institute, Ltd.," said Mark King, Managing Director and Co-Founder of KRG Capital Partners. "We are very impressed with the PRACS platform and its expertise in CRO services as well as with the depth and enthusiasm of its management team and employees."

Dr. James Carlson, Founder and President of PRACS Institute, Ltd., added of their new partners, "KRG Capital Partners and The Weinberg & Bell Group bring business strength, financial depth, and management resources to the long-range growth objectives of PRACS. The new partners will provide a new level of business expertise as PRACS continues to execute its growth strategy."

PRACS will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Contract Research Solutions, Inc. (CRS), a newly formed company to effect the acquisition. Dr. Carlson, who will remain President and CEO, stated that, "As we move forward with our new investors, the high standards to which we hold ourselves accountable will remain unchanged. Our management teams in Fargo, East Grand Forks and San Diego will remain the same. And last of all, we will retain our focus on providing superior client services as the additional capital enables us to expand our service capabilities."

Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) provided financial advisory services in connection with the recapitalization of PRACS. Commenting on the transaction, Nir Gabriely, Director at BGL, said, "We received strong indications of interest from many qualified parties and are very pleased with the results of our private placement efforts. PRACS represents an attractive investment opportunity in the CRO space. We wish Mr. King, Mr. Bell, their partners and Dr. Carlson good luck and look forward to monitoring the long-term growth of the business." Freeport Capital and Merrill Lynch provided the debt financing. Legal counsel was provided by Paul Hastings, Janofsky & Walker for KRG and Kohrman Jackson & Krantz for WBG.

About KRG:

Founded in 1996, KRG is a Denver-based private equity firm that currently has approximately $2.0 billion in cumulative invested capital and remaining committed capital and is investing from its current $715 million fund. KRG specializes in acquiring and recapitalizing unique and profitable middle-market companies. The firm seeks investment opportunities for its partners where KRG can work in concert with owners and operating managers who are committed to expanding their companies and becoming industry leaders. The result is a partnership that focuses on creating a significantly larger enterprise through a combination of internal growth and complementary add-on acquisitions. Since inception, KRG has invested in 25 platform companies and has completed 63 add-on acquisitions for those platforms. More information on KRG is available online at www.krgcapital.com.

About The Weinberg & Bell Group:

The Weinberg & Bell Group (WBG) is a Cleveland-based private equity firm specializing in the acquisition of middle-market companies with leading market positions and strong management teams. WBG's principles have a long and successful history of working with owners and management to build platform companies to maximize growth opportunities and increase shareholder value. For additional information on The Weinberg & Bell Group, visit www.weinbergbell.com.

About PRACS Institute, Ltd.:

PRACS Institute, Ltd., headquartered in Fargo, N.D., has served the innovator and generic pharmaceutical industries with full-service on-site clinical, bioanalytical and statistical capability for Phase I-IV trial studies in a variety of therapeutic areas. The 22-year-old company's recent expansion of dermatology research services now include Pre-Clinical Franz Permeation Cells for drug-skin permeation studies, Clinical Dermatology Research services to evaluate skin response to a variety of topical products, and Multi-Center Dermatology Research to place and manage dermatology research projects interfacing with multiple investigators across North America. For more information on PRACS Institute, Ltd., visit www.pracs.com.