WL Ross & Co. Completes Acquisition of BST

NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2006 -- WL Ross & Co. LLC today announced that it has completed the acquisition of BST Safety Textiles GmbH (BST), formerly Berger Safety Textiles, Maulburg, Germany, a transaction it announced in September 2006.

BST is a leading international manufacturer of flat and one piece woven ("OPW") fabrics for automotive air bags as well as narrow fabrics for seat belts and military and technical uses. BST operates facilities located in southern Germany, Poland and two facilities in Virginia in the US. The company employs approximately 1,250 people worldwide.

WL Ross previously acquired in December 2005 Safety Components International, Inc. (SCI), a leading independent supplier of air bag fabrics and air bag cushions. SCI was merged with International Textile Group, Inc. (ITG) on October 20, 2006 and now operates as the Safety Textiles International (STI) business unit of ITG.

Wilbur Ross, Chairman, said, "We are very pleased to have completed the BST transaction. The BST and STI/ITG businesses complement each other, and we believe there are many synergies and growth opportunities available to explore."

WL Ross & Co. has sponsored more than $4 billion of private equity transactions in the steel, coal, textile, auto supply and insurance industries since its founding on April 1, 2000.

International Textile Group was formed by Ross in 2004 and operates five primary business units: Safety Textiles International (automotive fabrics), Cone Denim, Burlington WorldWide (apparel fabrics), Burlington House (interior fabrics) and Carlisle Finishing. The company employs over 9,000 people worldwide with operations in the United States, Mexico, China, Germany, Romania, Czech Republic, South Africa, Nicaragua and Vietnam.