BrassRing Acquires Westech Group, Leading Technology Recruitment Services Company

BrassRing Enhances Position As Premier Business-to-Business Hiring Management And Recruitment Company

New York, NY - In a move that enhances its position as a leader in business-to-business hiring management and recruitment services, BrassRing Inc. announced today that it has agreed to acquire the Westech Group of Companies, which will be merged into BrassRing later this year. Westech is a fast-growing provider of Internet recruitment services and high-tech career fairs on the West Coast. BrassRing is a leading provider of career fairs and Web-based hiring services in Canada, Europe and the eastern half of the United States.

The acquisition positions BrassRing as a leader in technology recruitment services with estimated 2000 revenues of nearly $100 million, 50% from Internet-based businesses.

"This puts BrassRing at the cutting edge of technology recruitment services," said Jonathan Grayer, Chairman of BrassRing Inc. "We will be able to use our unique combination of assets to offer technology-enabled products and services to help employers find and hire the right candidates faster."

Westech is owned by Central Newspapers, Inc. (NYSE: ECP). Following the acquisition, BrassRing will be 42 % owned by Kaplan, Inc., a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO), 27 % owned by Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB) and 23 % owned by Central Newspapers, with the remaining 8% owned by Accel Partners.

The other Westech key assets include incpad.com, an online technology portal visited by 1.7 million job-seekers each month, with 36,000 job listings, over 400,000 technology professional resumes and over 500,000 relevant articles. Westech also publishes "High Technology Careers," a magazine with a circulation of 150,000 in Silicon Valley.

Louis A. Weil III, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Central Newspapers, will join BrassRing's board of directors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is subject to the receipt of necessary approvals.

The addition of Westech's career fair base will significantly enrich BrassRing's thriving career event business. The combined entity will feature 400 hi-tech and non-tech career events per year, serving over 9,000 companies and reaching more than 500,000 candidates.

In addition to career fairs, BrassRing offers Web-based hiring management solutions through its HireSystems unit. After sourcing candidates, employers can scan, search, distribute and track resumes, accelerating and improving the hiring process.

"Combining the resources of BrassRing with Westech will provide employers with more options to meet the exploding demand for top information technology and other tech professionals," said Mr. Weil.

Westech will continue to be based out of Santa Clara, Calif.

About BrassRing Inc.

BrassRing (www.brassring.com) offers employers a vertically integrated suite of online and offline recruitment and hiring management solutions. It is a leading provider of career events in North America and Europe, and offers a wealth of online recruiting services through thepavement.com, a career/lifestyle site for college graduates; and kaplancareers.com, a site devoted to technical professionals.

In addition, BrassRing offers state-of-the-art hiring management solutions through its HireSystems unit. Incorporated in 1997, HireSystems provides hiring management services to more than 100 companies including Time Warner, Inktomi, 3Com, Bose and Phone.com.

Created in September 1999, BrassRing was formed through the combination of Kaplan Career Services, Terra Starr, Crimson & Brown Associates, thepavement.com and HireSystems, some of the most respected names in traditional recruitment, assessment, training and online hiring management.

About Central Newspapers Inc.
Central Newspapers is a media and information company. Through its flagship newspapers "The Arizona Republic" and "The Indianapolis Star," the Company publishes the only major dailies in greater Phoenix and central Indiana. The Company also owns and operates several smaller newspapers as well as other related media and information businesses.

Press Contact: pubrel@kaplan.com, (212) 492-5965

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