FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 8, 2005

Contact
L. Thomas Gregory, Managing Director (312) 681-7400
Brian Maney, Director, Corporate Communications (301) 951-6122

AMSAN CLEANS UP

By Maureen Flanagan

AmSan, LLC was formed in 1997 by GTCR Golder Rauner, LLC (GTCR), a leading private equity investment firm, to consolidate the highly fragmented janitorial and sanitary supply distribution industry. Headquartered in Deerfield, IL, the company grew rapidly, making over 40 acquisitions in four years. Serving building services contractors, educational, healthcare, and hospitality customers, AmSan is today the largest independent janitorial and sanitary supplier in the U.S.

In 2002, a new management team, led by CEO Michael Mulhern, was brought in to help integrate acquisitions and implement a unified strategic vision. By right sizing departments, centralizing back office functions and rationalizing unprofitable customers, the new team achieved significant cost savings and redirected the focus to profitable growth.

In a June 30, 2005 transaction, GTCR recapitalized AmSan to position the company for further growth. In support of the recapitalization, American Capital Strategies, Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS) provided $25 million of senior financing alongside Merrill Lynch Capital's revolving credit facility and senior financing.

"The company's size and national presence enable it to serve the needs of large regional and national customers while offering value-added products and services to its core base of local, independent customers. AmSan is anticipating further growth driven by the expansion of its sales force, the launch of its own branded product line, and additional customer programs and services," said Mulhern.

AmSan's array of cleaning and maintenance products offers a product breadth unmatched in the industry. The company's lines include chemical and paper products, janitorial equipment (mops, brooms, brushes, buckets, etc.); safety items (gloves, masks, etc.); and specialty products (matting, rags, etc.). It also offers a full range of cleaning equipment and equipment repair products.

AmSan offers both national brand products as well as its own private label brand, Renown™. Launched in 2004, Renown™ has been well received by customers as a high quality alternative to the large national brands. Renown™ products include floor and carpet care, restroom products, industrial cleaners, disinfectants, insecticides, can liners and paper products.

Focusing on customer services, the company recently rolled out its Proforma™ program, which assesses a customer's overall cleaning program and identifies areas of cost reduction. No other industry supplier has the scale to execute a similar program, and Proforma™ provides a value-added service that induces customers to switch to AmSan.

Other customer-focused offerings include a comprehensive product catalog, complete with color pictures and product descriptions, and online ordering. The popular on-line feature provides a quick and secure way to access AmSan and gives customers more functionality for inventory control and planning.

AmSan's diverse base of over 50,000 customers typically purchase a majority of their janitorial and sanitary supplies from the company. Customers include large industry players such as ABM Janitorial as well as local customers who do not purchase janitorial products as their core business and can benefit from AmSan's expertise.

Since 1997, American Capital has invested more than $3 billion in middle market companies and currently manages a portfolio of more than 130 companies. Its portfolio investments include several in which American Capital partnered with GTCR. For more information about American Capital's portfolio click here.

AmSan competes in the $21 billion janitorial and sanitary supply distribution industry serving industrial, contract cleaning, commercial, healthcare, educational, and other market segments. The industry is comprised of more than 5,000 companies, the majority of whom are small, privately owned firms. Industry growth is projected at an annual 4% rate.

"As the number one supplier, AmSan is at the forefront of current consolidation trends to realize economies of scale in purchasing, selling, inventory and logistics," said Tom Gregory, American Capital Managing Director. "De-emphasizing its former acquisition strategy, AmSan is now focused on profitable organic growth."

Given its experienced management, national distribution network, and ability to leverage its purchasing volume, the company is well positioned for profitable expansion. The company's Renown™ brand is forecast for further growth and is anticipated to account for a quarter of total sales by 2006.

The company is also committed to further improvements in supplier sourcing, purchasing and demand management practices. It is currently rationalizing its product offering to increase product SKU purchasing volume while simplifying logistics and inventory management.

Added to this, AmSan's recently introduced customer-oriented services will enable the company to further facilitate orders and deepen its market penetration.

With these advantages, AmSan provides offerings that no other competitors can to better serve the janitorial and sanitary supply industry. As it continues to grow, AmSan is well positioned to clean up in its role as the leading industry supplier.