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California Consolidator of Auto Repair Centers Acquired By Blue Capital

23 June 1999

California Consolidator of Auto Repair Centers Acquired By Blue Capital

  Private Equity Firm to Enhance Operations of  M2 Automotive Refurbisher of
          Minicomputers Also to Benefit from Blue Capital Expertise

    NEW YORK, June 22 -- Blue Capital Management, LLC, today
announced the closing of two separate transactions:  M2 Automotive, Inc., a
Santa Monica, California-based consolidator of collision repair centers, and
Great Lakes Computer Source, Inc., a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based firm that
refurbishes and resells minicomputers.  These transactions represent the
fourth and fifth acquisitions in Blue Capital Partners Fund, LP of the
$112 million, which was closed in February of this year.  "We are tremendously
excited in the quality of these companies and in Blue Capital's investment
momentum thus far," said Robert Taylor, a Managing Director at Blue Capital.
    M2 Automotive currently operates approximately 30 collision centers in
California and is actively acquiring and building in selected markets in order
to provide complete coverage on behalf of its insurance company customers in
the state.  Hunt Ramsbottom, CEO at M2 Automotive, stated that, "In addition
to providing capital for growth, we expect Blue Capital to contribute a great
deal to our strategic planning process and to optimizing our operations.  It
was important to us that they had considerable experience in the insurance
business."
    Great Lakes Computer is the largest authorized reseller of used and
refurbished Alpha-based, mini-to-mainframe Compaq products (formerly Digital
Equipment), and is also authorized to sell the full line of new Intel-based
Compaq products.  Working with Compaq, Great Lakes is aggressively pursuing
opportunities to expand its product and service offerings.  "Blue Capital
brings an expertise in planning and operational process reviews which will
help us optimize our current business model and move into new strategic growth
areas, as well as providing access to the capital markets to support those
growth opportunities," said Great Lakes Computer's CEO Frank Kwiatek.  Chris
Gagnon, a Managing Director at Blue Capital, stated that, "Great Lakes
Computer has grown rapidly over the past several years through outstanding
execution and service.  We believe that the demand for less expensive,
refurbished computers greatly exceeds the supply, and we are excited to help
management go after that demand."