2006

NAUTIC PARTNERS ACQUIRES HUMAN RESOURCES SERVICES LEADER

Acquisition of Oasis Adds Leading Professional Employer Organization to Business Services Portfolio

Providence, RI — February 21, 2006

Nautic Partners, LLC, a private equity firm with more than $1.8 billion of capital under management, today announced that it has acquired West Palm Beach, Florida based Oasis Outsourcing, LLC (Oasis) from H.I.G. Capital. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Oasis is one of the largest professional employer organizations (PEO) in the U.S. and specializes in providing comprehensive human resources products and services, including consulting and training, healthcare benefits, payroll services, risk management services, recruiting and staffing support.
“The Oasis opportunity has many attractive characteristics that we seek in a transaction,” said Brad Wightman, Managing Director of Nautic Partners. “Led by a strong management team, Oasis has a solid franchise with a compelling value proposition, excellent customer retention and a highly scalable business model serving a large, under-penetrated and fragmented market.”

“Oasis fulfills a need among small and medium-sized businesses for human resources-related products and services that can be difficult, complex and disproportionately expensive for these businesses to provide on their own,” said Wightman. “We look forward to working with Oasis’ leadership team, which has demonstrated a unique ability to capitalize on market opportunities and achieve excellent operating performance. As one of the largest PEOs in the country, Oasis is well-positioned for substantial future growth, both organic and through acquisitions,” he said.

Oasis President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Perlberg, said: “We are very pleased to join forces with Nautic at this important stage of our development and believe that their financial support and experience in the business services sector will have an extremely positive impact on our future potential. Moreover, their substantial investment in Oasis will enable us to continue to expand the array of products and services valued by our clients.”

Oasis is an attractive addition to Nautic Partners’ business services portfolio, further strengthening the firm’s significant presence in the sector. Oasis is Nautic’s first platform acquisition in 2006, following five in 2005, which included two in the business services sector: Imaging Technologies Services Inc. and ConvergeOne LLC.

About Oasis Outsourcing, LLC
Oasis is a Florida-based staffing and professional employer organization serving more than 55,000 employees through 26 offices nationwide. It specializes in providing payroll administration, tax and risk management services, benefits management, human resources support and temporary staffing to businesses throughout the United States. The company operates under the names of Oasis Outsourcing and Oasis Staffing. For more information about Oasis visit www.oasisadvantage.com.