Clayton Dubilier & Rice Announces the Creation of the Largest Relocation and Van Line Logistics Company in the World

Advance/ New York (PROTEXT) - CAUTION -- ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 10 A.M. EST SUNDAY, NOV. 21 Pickfords, Allied Van Lines and North American Van Lines Uniteto Form Industry Leader Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Inc. ("CD&R"), a private equity firmwith offices in New York and London, today announced thecompletion of the merger between Pickfords, Allied Van Lines andNorth American Van Lines, creating the world's largest relocationand van line logistics company in a transaction valued atapproximately $450 million. The new Company, which will be knownas Allied Worldwide, will have operations in 36 countries, withmore than 1,100 agents and worldwide revenues of more than $2billion. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991119/NYTH055 ) "These companies are an excellent strategic fit. We willaggressively leverage their combined competitive strengths,maximize operational efficiencies and invest in technologicalinnovation," said Jim Rogers, a principal of Clayton Dubilier &Rice who will serve as the Chairman of the new company. "We willbring together the best practices of these organizations to set anew industry standard that will benefit our network of agents anddrivers, and of course, our collective customers." Allied Worldwide will maintain its high profile brands nameswhich include Pickfords in the U.K.; Allied Pickfords in Europe,Australia, New Zealand and Asia; Allied Van Lines in the U.S. andCanada; and North American Van Lines in the U.S. and Canada.Allied Worldwide will operate these brands as a holding company,with headquarters in Fort Wayne, Ind. and with executive officesin Naperville, Ill.; London, England; and Melbourne, Australia. Jim Rogers, a principal of CD&R, will serve as Chairman ofAllied Worldwide and R. Barry Uber, President and Chief ExecutiveOfficer of North American Van Lines, has been appointed thePresident and Chief Executive Officer. The Company announced thatJeffrey Kaczka, North American's Chief Financial Officer willbecome Chief Financial Officer of Allied Worldwide. MichaelFergus, President and Chief Executive Officer of Allied VanLines, will become President of the Van Line Network, AlliedWorldwide's residential relocation business. Julian Nicholls willcontinue to head up the operations of Pickfords and AlliedPickfords in Europe, and Kevin Pickford will continue to manageAllied Pickfords in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Mike Gunkelwill serve as Executive Vice President and General Manager ofLogistics Solutions. "We will deliver unmatched service to our customers on aworldwide basis," Barry Uber said. "Our strategy will be to buildan organization that takes advantage of our global scale andinnovative technology to provide customers and agents withclearly differentiated advantages." Following the completion of the transaction, a fund managed byCD&R will own approximately 73 percent of the outstanding sharesof the company while Allied's former parent, NFC plc (LondonExchange: NFC), will own approximately 20 percent. Management andagents will own approximately 7 percent. Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is one of the oldest and mostrespected private equity investment firms. With $5 billion ofequity capital under management, the firm's distinguishingcharacteristic is its focus on identifying and capturingoperational improvements in its portfolio companies. In additionto operational improvements, CD&R has initiated major mergers andacquisitions for its portfolio companies. For example, in 1987,the firm created the Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company by combiningthe tire businesses of the Uniroyal Tire Company and B.F.Goodrich. In 1994 the firm orchestrated the merger of Van KampenMerritt Companies and American Capital Management to create anindustry leading money management firm. In 1998, the firmestablished Global Decisions Group, a financial and energymarkets information provider, by combining McCarthy, Crisanti &Maffei and Cambridge Research Associates. A fund managed by CD&Roriginally purchased North American Van Lines on March 30, 1998from Norfolk Southern Corporation. Since its founding in 1978,CD&R has invested in 30 companies with aggregate annual sales ofmore than $20 billion, including such well know brand names asKinko's, Alliant Foodservice, and Lexmark International, amongother leading companies. (http://www.cdr-inc.com/) Allied Worldwide is a leader in both relocations and van linelogistics services for high value and special products. ThePickfords, North American, and Allied trademarks are consideredamong the most valuable brand names in the moving industry and,in independent research, these brands consistently ranks amongthe top van lines in terms of brand recognition and customersatisfaction. ots Original Text Service: Clayton Dubilier &Rice, Inc. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: ThomasC. Franco or Joseph W. McDonnell, (USA) 212-232-2222, both ofBroadgate Consultants, Inc. for Clayton Dubilier & Rice, Inc.Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991119/NYTH055

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