Alvarez & Marsal and McGrath Nicol + Partners Enter into Strategic Affiliation

Affiliation Combines Respective Strengths of the Leading
Independent Global Professional Services Firm and Australia's Top
Independent Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Firm

Alvarez & Marsal, the leading independent global professional
services firm, and McGrath Nicol + Partners, the leading independent
corporate advisory and restructuring firm in Australia and New
Zealand, have entered into a strategic affiliation agreement.
As affiliated firms, Alvarez & Marsal and McGrath Nicol + Partners
will serve as preferred resources for each other in connection with
engagements involving turnaround management and restructuring,
insolvency, and dispute analysis and forensics advisory services.
"Since 1983, Alvarez & Marsal has established the largest
geographic footprint of any independent, global professional services
firm with an operational heritage in turnarounds and restructurings,"
said Tony Alvarez II, the firm's co-chief executive with co-founder
Bryan Marsal. "Our commitment to quality has enabled us to provide an
unmatched level of service to clients in the U.S., Europe, Asia and
Latin America. We bring on the ground, multi-cultural and
multi-lingual professionals with extensive experience serving
corporate stakeholders as advisors or interim managers in complex
situations.
"Our affiliation with McGrath Nicol allows us to extend our reach
to Australia and New Zealand with a trusted partner that is also
committed to objectivity, quality and results," he added. "McGrath
Nicol + Partners is a premier advisory firm with an established
reputation for its work advising companies faced with strategic
challenges and financial difficulties. They share our exacting
standards in problem solving and value creation."
Tony McGrath, chairman of McGrath Nicol said, "We look forward to
the opportunity to bring our joint resources to bear in providing
independent and objective advisory services to a diverse range of
clients. Quality and professionalism in everything we do are hallmarks
of our business and we are pleased to become associated with Alvarez &
Marsal, who share those values.
"McGrath Nicol offers a wide range of services including forensic
and dispute advisory, corporate advisory and transaction services. The
affiliation with Alvarez & Marsal provides a tremendous opportunity
for us to further develop our restructuring and turnaround practice,
and cement our position as a leading business advisory firm," Mr
McGrath added.

About Alvarez & Marsal

Founded in 1983, Alvarez & Marsal is the leading independent
global professional services firm, specializing in providing
turnaround management and restructuring, performance improvement and
corporate advisory services. With more than 800 professionals based in
locations across the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America, Alvarez &
Marsal excels in problem solving and value creation. Drawing on its
strong operational heritage and hands-on approach, Alvarez & Marsal
professionals work closely with organizations and stakeholders to help
tackle complex business issues and maximize value.
Alvarez & Marsal clients have included HealthSouth, Levi Strauss,
Bridge Information Systems, Inc., Varig, Arthur Andersen, Interstate
Bakeries Corp., Treofan and LG Phillips, among others. Alvarez &
Marsal received the Turnaround Management Association's "Turnaround of
the Year" award in 2003 for its work with Warnaco, Inc. and again in
2005 for its work with Spiegel, Inc. Earlier this year, the firm
completed a landmark turnaround of Ihr Platz, a drug store chain in
Germany, in a case that provided the first test of a relatively new
law that paved the way for U.S.-style restructurings to occur in the
country. For more information visit www.alvarezandmarsal.com.

McGrath Nicol + Partners

Founded in 2004 as a spin-off of KPMG's corporate recovery
practice, McGrath Nicol + Partners comprises around 200 partners and
staff and has offices in Auckland, NZ and all major Australian cities.
Its professionals are longstanding market leaders in the fields of
restructuring and insolvency. More recently, the firm has expanded its
resources practising in the Government advisory, forensic and
transaction service areas. The firm's clients, which have ranged from
middle market companies to major corporations and spanned multiple
industries, have included Australian Federal and State Governments,
regulators, Australian and international commercial banks, investment
banks and private equity funds.
In Australia, the partners at McGrath Nicol have handled major
insolvencies ranging from HIH Insurance, ION and Pan Pharmaceuticals
to the NSW Airport Link and Victoria's National Express rail
franchises. In New Zealand, McGrath Nicol has worked on a number of
high profile liquidations and administrations recently, including
Henry Walker Eltin, ION, Pack and Pedal (CPI Retail Group), CWF
Holdings, Virgin Autos and HIH Insurance Group in New Zealand. The
firm has also advised stakeholders in numerous confidential
restructurings of large Australian corporations. For more information
visit www.mcgrathnicol.com