Apax Partners Plans to Appoint Ronald G. Dunn Chief Executive Officer of Thomson Learning Upon Completion of Acquisition

    NEW YORK, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Apax Partners and OMERS Capital
 Partners today announced that they plan to appoint Ronald G. Dunn as Chief
 Executive Officer of Thomson Learning, one of the largest academic
 publishers in the higher education business, upon the completion of the
 pending acquisition of the assets from The Thomson Corporation (NYSE:   TOC;
 TSX: TOC). It also was announced today that David Shaffer will be named
 Executive Chairman of Thomson Learning at that time. The Company's current
 President and Chief Executive Officer, Ronald H. Schlosser, will continue
 to lead Thomson Learning until the close of the transaction, at which time
 he will retire from Thomson Learning. As previously announced, the
 transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year,
 following the receipt of regulatory approvals.
     Mr. Dunn, 60, was the CEO of Thomson Learning's Academic and
 International Group from 1998 through 2005, and Mr. Shaffer, 64, was a
 member of the Thomson Board of Directors from 1998 through 2006, and
 President and CEO of Thomson Learning from 2000 through the end of 2002.
     Jackie Reses, Partner at Apax Partners, said: "The Thomson Learning
 properties are unique, global media franchises that hold strong positions
 in their respective markets and have delivered stable and predictable
 growth. We look forward to working in close partnership with Ron Dunn and
 Dave Shaffer, two proven media executives who are intimately familiar with
 the Thomson Learning businesses. Ron and Dave are extremely well suited to
 lead the newly independent Thomson Learning organization as it builds on
 its positions within its individual market segments, continues to expand
 internationally, and captures the enormous potential we believe exists in
 the evolution to digital content distribution in post-secondary education."
     Christian Stahl, Partner at Apax Partners continued: "As leader of the
 Thomson Learning team since 2003, Ron Schlosser has helped position the
 Company for the next phase of growth. We thank him for working closely with
 Ron and Dave to ensure a smooth and seamless transition upon close of the
 transaction, and wish him well in his new endeavors."
     Paul Renaud, President & CEO at OMERS Capital Partners, said: "We are
 delighted with the acquisition of the Thomson Learning properties and with
 our majority ownership of Thomson Nelson, Canada's leading educational
 publisher. We look forward to working with Greg Pilon, the President & CEO
 of Thomson Nelson, and his team, to continue the growth and financial
 success of the business."
     On May 11, 2007, funds advised by Apax Partners announced the signing
 of definitive agreements with The Thomson Corporation, under which such
 funds, together with funds advised by OMERS Capital Partners, will acquire
 the higher education, career learning and library reference assets of
 Thomson Learning and Nelson Canada for a combined total value of
 approximately $7.75 billion in cash.
     Additional Information on Ronald Dunn
     Mr. Dunn served as the CEO of the Academic and International Group at
 Thomson Learning from 1998 through 2005. In this position, Mr. Dunn was
 directly responsible for the performance of the Thomson Higher Education,
 International and Gale divisions. During Mr. Dunn's tenure, Thomson
 Learning consistently outperformed its major competitors in the academic
 marketplace and established a strong record of innovation and progressive
 leadership in the industry. He also was responsible for the
 transformational acquisition and integration of Harcourt's higher education
 business.
     Prior to joining Thomson Learning, Mr. Dunn was President of the
 Information Industry Association (IIA), a leader in addressing the public
 policy, business and technology issues shaping the information marketplace.
 Prior to IIA, Mr. Dunn served as a business development consultant for the
 Educational and Professional Publishing Group at McGraw-Hill. Mr. Dunn also
 served as the President of the McGraw-Hill College Division. From
 1990-1993, he was President of Macmillan Publishing Company and Group Vice
 President of Macmillan, Inc. overseeing its electronic publishing
 companies. Mr. Dunn holds a BA in Chemistry from Southern Illinois
 University and an MBA from Ohio State University.
     Additional Information on David Shaffer
     Until December 31, 2006, David Shaffer was executive vice president of
 The Thomson Corporation where he led critical enterprise-wide initiatives
 focused on leveraging assets and driving operational effectiveness across
 the Corporation. In his role as EVP, Mr. Shaffer, served on the
 Corporation's management executive committee and reported directly to
 Thomson president and CEO, Dick Harrington. Mr. Shaffer also served on The
 Thomson Corporation board of directors for nine years. Prior to Thomson,
 Mr. Shaffer was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of
 Jostens Learning Corporation. He has had an extensive executive career with
 Thomas Cook Travel Inc., Maxwell Communications Corporation plc, Macmillan
 Inc., and McGraw-Hill. Mr. Shaffer also is a member of the Advisory Board
 at Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, one of
 the top five graduate business schools in the world, and a member of the
 Board of Trustees of the University of San Diego.
     About Thomson Learning
     Through such well-known brands and businesses as Wadsworth, Delmar
 Learning, Gale, Heinle, Brooks/Cole and South-Western, Thomson Learning
 delivers learning solutions for colleges, universities, professors,
 students, reference centers, government agencies, corporations and
 professionals around the world. These solutions are delivered through
 specialized content, applications and services that foster academic
 excellence and professional development, as well as provide measurable
 learning outcomes to its customers. Thomson Learning's mission is to shape
 the future of global learning by delivering consistently better learning
 solutions for learners, instructors and institutions. You can learn more
 about Thomson Learning at: http://www.thomson.com/learning.
     About OMERS
     OMERS is a multi-employer pension plan established in 1962 and is one
 of the largest and most sophisticated asset management entities in Canada.
 As one of Canada's largest pension plans, OMERS provides pension services
 to about 372,000 active and retired members and almost 900 employers. With
 over Cdn $48 billion in assets and a global mandate, OMERS invests actively
 and directly in a wide range of securities including public equity, real
 estate, infrastructure and private equity. OMERS has a 10% allocation to
 the private equity asset class and currently has investments in excess of
 Cdn $2.5 billion. As manager of the private equity portfolio, OMERS Capital
 Partners Inc. continues to seek attractive investments on a global basis
 which will help meet the pension obligations of its members.
     About Apax Partners
     Apax is one of the oldest and largest private equity firms in the world
 with more than $30 billion under global management. Apax has offices in the
 United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden, Spain, India,
 Italy, Israel, and Hong Kong and over 120 investment professionals
 worldwide. Apax invests in five key sector areas: media,
 technology/telecom, retail/consumer, healthcare and business/financial
 services. Over the past 10 years, Apax has been one of the most active
 investors in media and communications with over $4 billion of equity
 invested. Recent investments include TDC ($17.6 billion), Intelsat ($5.0
 billion), CME ($3.0 billion), Yell Group ($3.0 billion), VNU World
 Directories ($2.6 billion) and Hit Entertainment ($1.0 billion).
     Contact:  Todd Fogarty
               Kekst and Company
               212-521-4854
               todd-fogarty@kekst.com
 
 

SOURCE Apax Partners