SageGroup Strategies Forms Collection Industry Division to Help Troubled Collection-Industry Companies Nationally and Internationally

New York City, NY and Los Angeles, CA -- December 28, 2004. SageGroup Strategies announces that it has formed a Collection Industry Division to serve troubled collection agencies and other Collection-Industry companies nationally and internationally.

SageGroup is the largest Professional Troubled-Company Specialist firm in the U.S.A. and the world, with over sixty offices in the U.S.A., Canada, Asia, and Europe, and with several more pending offices. The Firm specializes in helping troubled companies and other complex situations. Its main objectives include to: a) resolve their serious problems; b) reorganize and restructure them in an optimal manner; c) obtain sufficient financing; and/or d) grow and develop the ongoing companies in a positive appropriate manner.

"SageGroup has worked with commercial collection agencies for many years," stated Craig Kaufman, one of the three SGS Collection Industry Division Co-Managers. "The relationships have been and are very complementary, since commercial collection agencies are very often trying to collect from companies that are in financial, legal, managerial, and/or other types of serious trouble. These agencies often refer these troubled companies to SageGroup, knowing that SageGroup's objective will be to get these companies out of trouble and moving forward, including to be better able to pay their creditors on a timely basis."

Vince Cesarani, another SGS Collection Industry Division Co-Manager with 22 years of Collection Industry or other professional debtor-creditor business experience, continued, "Sometimes collection agencies have asked if SageGroup would also provide its troubled-company expertise and services to troubled collection agencies themselves. SageGroup began doing so in 2004, and it has now formed a strong SGS Collection Industry Division in accordance with this."

"The giant Collection Industry has many troubled collection agencies and other troubled companies," stated Manny Kyriannis, another member of the SGS Collection Industry Division, with 17 years of Collection Industry experience. "SageGroup's staff includes many persons with Industry and/or functional experience and capabilities, all being available to quickly help troubled collection agencies and other Industry companies to get out of trouble and moving forward well."

SageGroup offers a powerful large group of professionals who are experts at helping companies get out of trouble and move forward. SageGroup's staff includes over 600 highly-qualified specialists, including: financing and financial experts; turnaround experts; troubled-company specialists; marketing specialists; international business experts; attorneys; strategists; CPAs; corporate development specialists; acquisition and strategic alliance experts; corporate executives; operations experts; global sourcing specialists; industry specialists; technologists; and many others.

SageGroup's staff has been involved in hundreds of difficult company situations, including: refinancings; turnarounds; crisis management; debtor programs; spin-outs; restructurings and reorganizations; managed wind-downs and shut-downs; and transitions into being larger, stronger, better-financed, and stronger-management-team-run ongoing companies.

The SGS Collection Industry Division has at least one representative in each SGS Office nationally. For maximum confidentiality, initial inquiries from troubled Industry companies and their advisors can be directed to Larry Lindsey, a SGS Managing Director and the third SGS Collection Industry Division Co-Manager, at SGS's International Coordination Office, phone number (510) 865-2480.