Franchise Services of North America Inc. Announces Closing of Advantage Asset Sale to Catalyst

TSX-V Trading Symbol: FSN

RIDGELAND, MS, April 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - FRANCHISE SERVICES OF NORTH AMERICA INC. ("FSNA" or the "Company") (FSN.V) announces that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Simply Wheelz LLC ("Simply Wheelz"), which does business as Advantage Rent A Car ("Advantage"), completed the sale today of 41 United States airport concession agreements used in the Advantage business to The Catalyst Capital Group, Inc. (on behalf of one or more funds managed by it) ("Catalyst").

Catalyst was selected as the prevailing purchaser in an auction of the Advantage assets conducted in accordance with bidding procedures approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (the "Court") in the Simply Wheelz insolvency proceedings.  Catalyst had previously been approved by the Court as a secured lender in the proceedings.

Pursuant to the terms of the asset purchase agreement approved by the Court, the consideration for the Catalyst Asset Sale was a credit bid of US$46 million against the debtor-in-possession credit facility provided by Catalyst to Simply Wheelz, plus the assumption by Catalyst of certain liabilities of the Advantage business associated with such concession agreements.  Catalyst also assumed certain leases, executory contracts, personal property and intellectual property used in connection with the Advantage business.

Simply Wheelz filed for bankruptcy protection under the United States Bankruptcy Code on November 5, 2013.

About FSNA

FSNA is a publicly traded company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company and its subsidiaries own the following brands: Advantage Rent A Car, U-Save Car & Truck Rental® ("U-Save"), U-Save Car Sales, Rent-A-Wreck of Canada, PractiCar, Auto Rental Resource Center ("ARRC"), Xpress Rent A Car and Peakstone Financial Services.

U-Save, together with its subsidiary ARRC, has over 900 locations throughout the United States and is one of North America's largest franchise car rental companies. U-Save currently services 19 airport markets in 13 different states. Although primarily based in the United States, U-Save has 18 international locations in Mexico, Greece, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Practicar Systems Inc. owns the rights to the Rent-A-Wreck® and the PractiCar® trademarks for all of Canada. The Rent-A-Wreck® system operates a network of 61 franchise locations from coast-to-coast in Canada, providing a range of vehicle rental, leasing and sales options to its customers. The Rent-A-Wreck® system has been in continuous operation in Canada since 1976.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Franchise Services of North America Inc.