Catalyst acquires Swedish training company Outsmart from Volvo and Sigma

Catalyst acquires Swedish training company Outsmart from Volvo and Sigma

Gothenburg, Sweden (August 23, 2010)

New York based Catalyst Acquisition Group has taken the full ownership of Scandinavia’s largest dedicated corporate training company Outsmart. Principal sellers of the Swedish company are the Volvo Group and Sigma.

Future plans for Outsmart include aggressive internationalization and the development of a pure play outsourcing alternative for new and existing customers.

Outsmart was established in 2000 and currently delivers over 1 100 000 training programs a year. Many international household names are found among its customers: SKF, IKEA, Husqvarna, Ericsson, Volvo Group and Volvo Cars. Outsmarts excels in training customer facing staff in international corporations. The training model, known as blended learning, is a combination of web based training and classroom solutions. The programs are translated to 25 languages.

Outsmart’s head quarters will remain in Gothenburg, Sweden, and operations will continue in Scandinavia and India. Catalyst Acquisition Group plans for a forceful internationalization of the company.

“We will also integrate Catalyst’s propriety Carve-Outsourcing™ model with Outsmart’s training platform to create a new offer for customers that wish their essential training resources to be optimized,” said Hans Amell, Catalyst Founding Partner, Chairman and CEO. “This method has been very successful in North America, and we have helped several global companies to deliver more efficient training with dramatically lowered cost,” he added.

Hans Amell will chair Outsmart’s Board of directors while former owners Volvo and Sigma are to appoint observers that will participate in the Board for at least four years to come.

“ Ten years down the track, it is time for Outsmart to take the next step. Catalyst is an exciting owner. We really look forward to working inside an international constellation,” said Peter Béen, founder and Chief Operative Officer at Outsmart. “Catalyst has unique knowledge and experience from business development that we need in order to grow.”

“ We judge that the new owner provides Outsmart with a possibility to develop further. The deal has been smooth, quick and we think it is beneficial for all parties involved”, said Ulrika N Everingham, Investment Director at Volvo Technology Transfer.

About Catalyst

Catalyst Acquisition Group, L.L.C. is an internationally focused transformation firm concentrating on time-sensitive corporate transformation, buyouts, and divestitures. Catalyst does not maintain a traditional investment fund with Limited Partners; rather it self-finances each deal, investing own capital as appropriate. Catalyst works with clients and portfolio companies to uncover hidden value and refine operations with speed, certainty and integrity.

www.catalystacquisition.com

About Outsmart

Outsmart AB provides highly effective training and development solutions for sales, support and after market organizations. Together with our customers we provide cost efficient and sustainable change. The end result is a documented and improved bottom line.

www.outsmart.se

Contact:

Peter Béen, Outsmart

+46-706-011 957

peter.been@outsmart.se

Hans Amell, Catalyst Acquisition Group

+1 (973) 702-3985

hamell@catalystacquisition.com