The Wicks Group of Companies, L.L.C. and AEP Capital LLC announce the Acquisition of Bonded Services Group Limited

NEW YORK, June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wicks Group of Companies, L.L.C. ("The Wicks Group") and AEP Capital LLC ("AEP"), today announced that an affiliate has completed the acquisition of Bonded Services Group Limited and its subsidiaries ("Bonded") from affiliates of Berggruen Holdings. Bonded is a market leader in providing storage and media management services to the movie, music, television and other creative content industries as well as other businesses which have significant assets where specialized storage and retrieval service is highly valued.  Wicks and AEP have partnered with Jerome N. Gold, an executive with significant media industry experience and contacts, to consummate the transaction. Mr. Gold will lead the company as Chief Executive Officer and will be based in Los Angeles, CA.

"I am very excited to join with The Wicks Group and AEP to make this acquisition of Bonded," Mr. Gold said. "I have known the principals at both firms for many years and collectively, we believe our relationships and knowledge of the media and business services industries gives us an opportunity to grow the company into being the best provider of storage and retrieval services. I look forward to this new challenge and to working with our customers, the Bonded management team and my investment partners to continue to build this fine company."

Bonded provides its storage services in Los Angeles, New York, London, Toronto, Paris, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.  The Wicks Group and AEP will seek to leverage Bonded's strategic footprint to grow its presence in markets that focus on the storage and care of valuable customer assets. Content owners will continue to need a trusted partner to preserve and help exploit their assets by finding opportunities for new uses that are being driven by changes in technology.

"Bonded has a strong reputation in its niche markets and we believe there are opportunities to expand the product offerings with key customers," said Daniel L. Black, Managing Partner at The Wicks Group.  "We think Bonded can grow its business organically by providing services that are sensitive to the needs of content owners since the company's leadership team has deep knowledge of the underlying businesses that use the services. There is also an opportunity to leverage our existing footprint to pursue acquisitions. Acquisitions will be a key component to driving growth and will provide us the opportunity to broaden our relationships."

"We look forward to working with the management team, staff and world class customer base in the coming years," added Gregg Mayer, Managing Director of AEP Capital LLC. "Berggruen has been a fine steward of the business during its ownership, and we expect to take advantage of Bonded's unique position in the future."

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP acted as legal advisors to The Wicks Group on the transaction. Graubard Miller acted as legal advisor to AEP on the transaction.

About The Wicks Group of Companies, L.L.C. (www.wicksgroup.com)

The Wicks Group is a New York based private equity firm that invests in selected segments of the information, education, and media industries. The funds currently own or have owned companies in educational publishing, educational services, database and information services, affinity marketing services, consumer publishing, medical information services, radio and television broadcasting, outdoor advertising, and cable television distribution.

About Bonded Services Group Limited (www.bondedservices.com)

Bonded Services Group Limited is the recognized leader in the film storage and video archive services business with climate-controlled vaults that store over 8,000,000 reels of film, video and audio-related material worldwide. The company also provides a wide range of technical and inventory management services such as specialized vaults for high value content storage services.

About AEP Capital LLC (www.aepcapital.com)

AEP is a boutique investment firm engaged in private equity and specialized advisory assignments.  Its private equity efforts are primarily focused on acquisitions and investments in media, entertainment, communications and business services.  AEP and its affiliates currently own or have owned companies in educational services, direct marketing services, consumer publishing, radio and television networks.  In addition, AEP assists its clients in identifying, evaluating, structuring and negotiating all forms of business transactions.

SOURCE The Wicks Group of Companies, L.L.C.