AlixPartners LLC, the international corporate turnaround, performance improvement and financial advisory firm, announced today it has agreed to a recapitalization of the firm by which affiliates of Hellman & Friedman LLC will make a significant investment in AlixPartners. AlixPartners' 78 managing directors, along with the remainder of its more than 500 employees, also will gain a considerable equity stake in the enterprise. Together, they will hold a majority interest in the private firm. Michael Grindfors, 50, will continue as CEO of the firm.

The transaction puts the total enterprise value of the firm in excess of $800 million. Other terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Jay Alix, 50, who founded the firm in 1981, said he is transferring a substantial portion of his interest but will remain with the firm as co-chairman and will be its largest individual shareholder. The other co-chairman will be Philip Hammarskjold of Hellman & Friedman LLC.

"This recapitalization accomplishes three things," said Jay Alix. "It fulfills my long-held objective of an orderly succession from an entrepreneurial firm to a self-perpetuating institution. It gives our employees, who have worked very hard to build our firm, a significant equity ownership and an important stake in our future. And, it gives us an incredibly valuable currency - equity in the form of stock - to attract and retain the best talent in our industry."

"Long ago we institutionalized our 'magic.' What makes us unique among professional services firms is that we have always been a firm with more than just one or two 'stars,'" said Grindfors. "Not only are we credited with inventing the term 'turnaround,' but we also are widely recognized as a pioneer in the industry, creating innovations such as our turnaround-team model, our share-the-risk 'success-fee' model and taking our hands-on approach into performance improvement for financially sound companies. Our success has been based on creating real value for our clients over the last 25 years, and we are committed to continuing that tradition."

AlixPartners has enjoyed 25 years of uninterrupted revenue growth. In the last ten years, the firm has grown from two offices in the U.S. to 12 offices in North America, Europe and Asia, with affiliations in South America and Australia, and it has achieved organic average annual growth of more than 30 percent during that time. More than half of its revenue today comes from providing services to healthy companies seeking performance improvement, IT transformation and financial advisory services.

"We are thrilled at the opportunity to support Michael Grindfors and the managing directors and employees at AlixPartners in this recapitalization transaction," said Hammarskjold. "We have been active investors in the professional services industry for many years, and our experience and diligence indicate that by almost any measure, AlixPartners sets the standard for outstanding performance and brand recognition in the global consulting industry.

"AlixPartners' commitment to getting results for its clients will continue to drive the firm's growth, particularly in today's uncertain economic environment," Hammarskjold continued. "By providing the managing directors and employees of the firm with a greater economic stake in its future success, we believe this recapitalization will serve as a catalyst to help the firm grow and support its clients worldwide."

AlixPartners' present or past clients include General Motors Corp. (U.S.), BP PLC (UK), Toys "R" Us Inc. (US), Narita Airport Authority Corp. (Japan), Henkel KgaA (Germany), Karstadt Quelle AG (Germany) and Bruno Magli Spa (Italy), as well as some of the largest restructurings of all time, including WorldCom Inc., Kmart Corp., Enron Corp., Refco LLC and Calpine Corp.

Under terms of the agreement, each of AlixPartners' managing directors will be given the opportunity to roll over some of the value of his or her existing interests in the firm into new equity in the recapitalized organization. In addition, employees other than managing directors will participate in a "phantom equity" program. Alix said the recapitalization was expected to close within the next 90 days.

About Alix Partners

AlixPartners LLC is a global performance improvement, corporate turnaround and financial advisory services firm. The AlixPartners' "one-stop-shop" suite of services range from financial restructuring and operational performance improvement across all major corporate disciplines (manufacturing, supply chain, IT, sales & marketing, working capital, etc.), to financial advisory services (including financial reporting, corporate governance and investigations) to technology-enabled restructuring and claims management. The firm has more than 500 employees, with offices in Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Düsseldorf, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Munich, New York, Paris, San Francisco and Tokyo. It is on the Web at www.alixpartners.com.

About Hellman & Friedman

Hellman & Friedman LLC is a leading private equity investment firm with offices in San Francisco, New York and London. The Firm focuses on investing in superior business franchises and as a value-added partner to management in select industries including financial services, professional services, asset management, software and information, media and energy. Since its founding in 1984, the Firm has raised and, through its affiliated funds, managed over $8 billion of committed capital. Recent investments include: Activant Solutions Inc., Artisan Partners Limited Partnership, DoubleClick, Inc., GeoVera Insurance Group Holdings, Ltd., LPL Holdings, Inc., Mondrian Investment Partners, Ltd., The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (NDAQ), Texas Genco LLC, Vertafore, Inc. and VNU N.V.