FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Carousel Capital Announces Investment in Crescent Publishing Company

April 12, 2004 – Charlotte, North Carolina and Greenville, South Carolina — Carousel Capital announced today an investment in Crescent Publishing Company, a leading publisher of community newspapers headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. Crescent publishes sixteen non-daily newspapers located in Alabama, South Carolina, and Maine. In addition to establishing its ownership position through this initial equity investment, Carousel is also reserving additional equity capital to support Crescent in future planned acquisitions of community newspaper properties. Crescent’s founder and CEO is Bern Mebane, a former President of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association. Before founding Crescent, Mr. Mebane served as Senior Group President of Gannett’s Piedmont Newspaper Group. Prior to Gannett’s acquisition of Multimedia, Mebane served as President of Multimedia Newspapers, a publisher that had approximately $150 million of revenues and $50 million of EBITDA. Terms of Carousel’s investment in Crescent were not disclosed.

“Carousel will be a great partner for Crescent,” said Bern Mebane, CEO of Crescent. “I have known Carousel for several years and I expect with their experience and relationships that they will be a strong and like-minded supporter for Crescent as we continue to execute on our growth plans.”

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to partner with Bern Mebane, an experienced and well-regarded operator in the newspaper industry, and existing investor Vaxa Capital Partners,” said Charles Grigg, Partner at Carousel Capital. “Community newspapers are an established and stable component of the media business. Because of their focus on local news, advertising and information, we feel that they are uniquely positioned to benefit in the future from growth in the overall advertising market.”

Crescent’s newspapers in Alabama include The Fairhope Courier, which was established in 1894, The Onlooker (1908) of Foley, and five other non-daily papers. In Maine, Crescent publishes seven non-daily papers, including The Courier Gazette (1845) of Rockland, The Bar Harbor Times (1914), and The Republican Journal (1829) of Belfast. In South Carolina, Crescent publishes The Easley Progress (1902) and The Powdersville Post (1997).


About Carousel Capital

Carousel Capital is a private investment firm that invests in Southeastern-based companies.
With more than $300 million of capital under management, Carousel is one of the largest private equity firms in the Southeastern U.S. Carousel’s investors include an elite group of more than 65 current and former CEOs with expertise in a diverse group of industries. Carousel’s investor base also includes institutional investors such as financial institutions, insurance companies, and pension funds. Since its inception, Carousel has invested in 17 companies across a wide range of industries.

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