FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 13, 2005

Contact
Natasha Volyanskaya , Vice President (415) 591-0120
Brian Maney, Director, Corporate Communications (301) 951-6122

INOVIS FACILITATES B2B NETWORKING FOR OPTIMAL SUPPLY CHAIN EXECUTION

By Maureen Flanagan

Founded in 1983, Inovis International, Inc. develops and markets business-to-business (B2B) software and services to help companies efficiently manage trading relationships across their supply chains. Since 2002, Inovis has been owned by Golden Gate Capital and Cerberus Capital Management. Led by a strong management team, the Alpharetta, GA-based firm made several acquisitions over the past three years, expanding Inovis' capabilities and significantly increasing profitability. With more than 20,000 customers, Inovis is a leading player serving both large, multi-national enterprises as well as small- to medium-sized businesses.

In a December 5, 2005 transaction, Golden Gate and Cerberus recapitalized Inovis. In support of the recapitalization, American Capital Strategies, Ltd. (Nasdaq:ACAS), a publicly traded private equity firm, provided a $90 million senior term B loan. A portion of the proceeds will be used for a shareholder distribution. A syndicate led by Wells Fargo Foothill provided a revolving credit facility and also invested in a senior term A loan.

Since 1997, American Capital has invested more than $7 billion in middle market companies. For more information about American Capital's portfolio click here.

"Since the emergence of electronic data interchange (EDI) more than 20 years ago, Inovis has delivered significant benefits to our customers, including cost savings, improved data accuracy, increased productivity and optimized supply chain execution," said Sean Feeney, the company's President and CEO. "Inovis is one of the premier operators in the market, with a secure, reliable global network that companies depend on to transport mission-critical trade communications and manage supply networks."

Inovis manages a secure and proprietary value-added network (VAN), Inovisworks.net, which enables safe and reliable electronic document transactions between supply chain participants. Customers contract to use the network and pay monthly usage and individual transaction fees. Through the Inovisworks.net portal, customers can efficiently route purchase orders, invoices, payments and other supply chain communications with their trading partners. Inovis also offers managed services, which enable customers to outsource to Inovis all of their e-business functions and EDI requirements.

In 2003, the company acquired IPNet, a developer of Internet-based EDI software solutions, which augmented the company's B2B portfolio by delivering an innovative software alternative to the traditional VAN. The BizManager suite of products offers a B2B gateway software solution that allows trading partners to connect with one another without the use of a VAN, either through direct lines or via the Internet. Although the majority of EDI distribution networks have not yet made the shift to the Internet, Inovis has sold BizManager products to banks and other global institutions for secure Internet transmission of intra-company data.

Inovis' products facilitate data communication and synchronization among trading partners, no matter what type of internal software or data formats individual companies use. TrustedLink, Inovis' translation software offering, seamlessly translates internal product information to and from the EDI format. Companies can then electronically communicate with one another through a VAN or software environment. TrustedLink is fully integrated with BizManager and works seamlessly with Inovisworks.net, as well.

Inovis' most recent acquisition was the 2004 purchase of QRS Corporation, a provider of VAN and catalogue services for the retail industry. QRS brought Inovis a depth of industry expertise in the retail vertical as well as a blue chip customer base of retail's leading companies. The Inovis Catalogue, acquired in the QRS transaction, is the largest database of product information for the general merchandise and apparel (GMA) retail industry, containing over 110 million items. This hosted application allows retailers and suppliers to synchronize items in their internal software systems with those in the catalogue to enable efficient communication during order placement and fulfillment. Inovis' catalogue has a leading market share in the GMA retail industry and integrates easily with the Inovis VAN, Inovisworks.net, for the transfer and delivery of product information to and from Inovis Catalogue.

The company markets Inovisworks.net and Inovis Catalogue to large retailers including Federated Department Stores and Dillard's. These retailers then mandate their suppliers to use the same system to facilitate efficient transactions and processing of documents such as an Advance Ship Notice (ASN) or Purchase Order. This dynamic further integrates Inovis' retail VANs into customer operations.

"Inovis' products are essential to handling the increasing complexities of supply chain execution," said Natasha Volyanskaya, American Capital Vice President. "By outsourcing these functions, a customer can achieve scale with limited IT and network investment while reducing errors and improving overall data quality. Moving forward, Inovis will focus on growing the services side of the business " the Inovisoworks.net VAN and Inovis Catalogue " as well as increasing new software sales, and marketing its managed services to small and mid-sized enterprises."

The EDI market is valued at an estimated $2 billion worldwide. Although growth in the VAN segment has slowed over the past few years, sales for Inovis' products are projected to increase. Growth will be driven by increased B2B transactions, especially for the company's small and mid-sized customer base, in addition to volume gains from increased traffic and expansion in the international market.

Moreover, Inovis has a leading market share in the VAN retail market. Generating more than $3 trillion annually in sales, retail is the second largest industry in the United States and offers plentiful opportunities for Inovis' VAN and catalogue. Inovis is planning to add new retail customers and expand internationally.

Inovis is positioned for growth as the market moves towards Internet networks. Though the Internet has not yet replaced traditional VANs, many supply chains are moving to a hybrid model that leverages both software and services. The combination of Inovis' VAN, Inovisworks.net, and its BizManager software suite positions Inovis well for these growing opportunities.

As the complexity of supply chain execution increases, businesses face growing communications challenges. Inovis delivers integration and communication that can deliver the seamless flow of critical data regardless of connectivity, data format or technology platform, making it a key business partner for any company operating in today's -- and tomorrow's - global business environment.