Delta Education Acquires Educators Publishing Service (EPS)
Enhances Leadership Position in Elementary School Publishing

Nashua, NH, June 11, 2002 — In a transaction which combines two market leaders Delta Education, LLC announced the acquisition of Educators Publishing Service (EPS), a Cambridge, MA-based company. The transaction is expected to close on 1 July 2002.

"This acquisition creates natural synergy with Delta Education," said Gary Facente CEO of Delta Education. "EPS's great strength in teaching reading skills is a tremendous asset and our acquisition of EPS comes at a time when schools are committing greater resources to basic reading instruction. Both Delta and EPS will get increased visibility in elementary school classrooms and, when combined, our customer database will strengthen the competence of both companies in targeted marketing."

Founded in 1949, EPS (www.epsbooks.com) is a leading provider of standards-based supplemental reading instruction materials in the United States and Canada. It has pioneered reading instruction since 1949, with an emphasis on children with learning differences and dyslexia. It also has a strong test-preparation presence through its popular Wordly Wise series and is the main publisher and distributor of the All Kinds of Minds materials, created by the well-known physician and educator Dr. Mel Levine. Its phonics series, Explode the Code, is used to supplement reading instruction in many of the nation's elementary schools. Increased emphasis on reading instruction, driven by high stakes testing, has accelerated the company's growth in recent years.

EPS will continue to be headed by President Nick Gaedhe, who will report to Delta Education CEO Gary Facente. EPS will continue its operations in Cambridge. "I am very excited about EPS joining forces with Delta Education. We've enjoyed strong growth in our catalog business and now see the opportunity to sell district-wide adoptions using Delta's sales force," said Jeffrey Hall, grandson of EPS's founder, Robert G. Hall and Chairman of the company. Hall will leave the business upon closing of the transaction. Investment bankers Berkery, Noyes & Co., represented EPS.

Delta Education (www.delta-education.com) publishes basal materials for science, with recent state adoption successes in Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama with its National Science Foundation funded FOSS program - the country's major alternative to science textbooks. Its secondary school materials, carrying the CPO Science imprint, were adopted in Texas, Kentucky, Georgia and Oregon in 2002. Delta is also a leading catalog and direct seller of supplemental science and math print and manipulative materials to schools, including the popular Delta Science Modules, which correlate with major elementary school textbooks. Its CPO Science imprint creates lab manuals, textbooks, investigations materials, and professional development videos for use by secondary schools. Delta also sells science activity kits in the retail market and holds activity kit licenses for Harry Potter™ and The Powerpuff Girls™ brands.

The Wicks Group of Companies, L.L.C. (www.wicksgroup.com) purchased Delta Education in August 2001. Wicks is a New York-based private equity firm that invests in communications, information and media businesses.

Wicks Learning Group
Wicks Group of Companies, L.L.C.
80 Northwest Blvd.
Nashua, NH 03063 603.579.3500