Charterhouse Group Announces Exit of Investment in OAKLEAF Global Holdings, Inc. In a $655 Million Transaction

Strong Organic and Acquisition Growth Results
in 7x Return on Investment

New York, NY (August 16, 2007)

In a transaction that closed earlier this week, Charterhouse Group, Inc. ("Charterhouse") sold its interest in OAKLEAF Global Holdings, Inc. ("OAKLEAF" or the "Company"), a leading provider of outsourced waste logistics solutions, to New Mountain Partners II, L.P. and New Mountain Partners III, L.P., private equity funds sponsored by New Mountain Capital LLC ("New Mountain"), in a transaction valued at $655 million.  

Under Charterhouse's four year partnership with OAKLEAF CEO and Founder Jim Barnes and his management team, the Company has grown significantly to become North America's leading asset-light provider of outsourced waste logistics solutions.  The Company successfully completed six add-on acquisitions between 2004 and 2007, broadly expanding the Company's service offering and diversifying its customer base.

OAKLEAF manages national waste service contracts for a diverse group of corporations in the retail, restaurant, hospitality, manufacturing and property management industries. The Company utilizes a network of local and regional waste haulers to provide non-hazardous waste collection services for its customers.  OAKLEAF is differentiated from others in the waste industry by its asset-light business model, which reduces customer costs, improves vendors' route density and encourages environmentally "green" alternatives to traditional waste disposal.  At the Company's core is one of the most advanced customer and vendor management information technology platforms in the business process outsourcing industry.  The Company's entrepreneurial management and state-of-the-art systems have revolutionized the waste services industry by providing comprehensive, nationwide solutions to corporations. Today, OAKLEAF serves approximately 500 major customers at 85,000 locations in North America and executes over two million transactions per month.  

Jay Gates, Partner at Charterhouse, said, "Ever since we established a relationship with OAKLEAF CEO and Founder Jim Barnes through Charterhouse Entrepreneur Paul Verrochi, we were impressed with the vision and creativity of Jim and his team. We are proud to have supported the Company through such an exciting period of growth that has helped change and revitalize the industry.  OAKLEAF exemplifies our partnership with industry leaders in emerging business service sub-sectors.  The Company is well-positioned for future expansion and Charterhouse wishes management continued success as they work with New Mountain to take the business to the next level."

The sale of OAKLEAF reflects the culmination of a well-executed Charterhouse Entrepreneur-focused build-up strategy.   The OAKLEAF strategy is consistent with Charterhouse's focus on sourcing proprietary deals and investment opportunities through its Entrepreneur relationships and creating value through well-developed buy-and-build strategies. It is also representative of Charterhouse's core thesis of targeting investments in differentiated, asset-light and scaleable sectors that are uniquely-positioned for extraordinary growth. Since 1973, Charterhouse has consistently identified and partnered with seasoned executives and supported the growth of market leading companies.  

Paul Verrochi, Charterhouse Entrepreneur and OAKLEAF's Chairman, stated, "It has been my pleasure to work closely with Jim and the OAKLEAF team. The executives who work for Jim comprise one of the finest groups of managers that I have had the pleasure of dealing with during my 35 years in the service sector. They have built a solid and sustainable culture - second to none. I am proud to have overseen the six-fold revenue growth of this outstanding and dynamic company." Previous to his Charterhouse affiliation, Mr. Verrochi was a founder of several businesses including American Medical Response, Inc., a provider of ambulance services, and Coach USA, Inc., a provider of motorcoach charters, tour and sightseeing services.

Jim Barnes stated: "Paul, Jay and the rest of the Charterhouse professionals have been great partners over the last four years. With their industry connections and deep transaction experience, they brought more than just capital to the table.  Charterhouse was incredibly resourceful and the insight and constructive support that we received enabled us to realize our vision of building an industry leader in a relatively short period of time."     

The transaction is expected to close in mid-August. The Company was advised by Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated and Proskauer Rose LLP.

About Charterhouse Group:
Charterhouse Group, Inc. is a private equity firm that has been active for over three decades in building leading middle-market companies. Established in 1973, Charterhouse has invested over $2 billion in equity through several limited partnerships. Since its inception, Charterhouse has completed investments in over 100 platform companies with a focus in the Business Services, Healthcare Services and Consumer Products and Services sectors. For more information on Charterhouse, please visit www.charterhousegroup.com.

About OAKLEAF Global Holdings, Inc.:
OAKLEAF, founded in 1995, provides logistics services related to waste and recycling solutions to a broad base of multi-location retail, restaurant, hotel, manufacturing, property management and mall clients including Sears, United Technologies, Kmart, GAP, TGI Fridays and more.  OAKLEAF is the most rapidly growing waste outsourcing company in the nation with more than 450 employees, a nationwide network of 4,600 certified haulers and more than 85,000 locations served throughout North America.  OAKLEAF was named to Inc. Magazine's 500 List three years in a row and has been ranked on Inc.'s Inner City 100 List for the last three years. For more information on OAKLEAF, please visit www.oakleafwaste.com.

Contacts:
Charterhouse Group:        
Jay Gates, Partner - (212) 584-3223
David G. Hoffman, Partner - (212) 584-3234
Charterhouse Group, Inc.
535 Madison Avenue - 28th Floor
New York, NY  10022-4299
T: 212-584-3200 
F: 212-750-9704
www.charterhousegroup.com

Broadgate Consultants:
Daniel Jacobs - (212) 232-2227
djacobs@broadgate.com