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Prospect Partners and Management Acquire World Data Products, Leading Provider of Refurbished Computer and Networking Equipment


MINNETONKA, MN - August 30, 2010
– World Data Products, Inc. (WDPI), a leading provider of refurbished computer and networking equipment and repair services, has been acquired by Prospect Partners, LLC, of Chicago, Ill., a leading private equity firm focused on building companies over time and committed to maximizing their values. Prospect Partners co-invested with World Data Products’ management team in the acquisition. 

Founded in 1987, WDPI has become one of the largest independent resellers of refurbished servers, storage and networking equipment, including platforms such as Cisco Systems, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Sun Microsystems. The company sources, refurbishes, and sells used and new equipment to a diversified worldwide customer base of more than 4,000 wholesale broker/dealers and corporate end-users in markets that include technology, government, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and education.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to work with Prospect Partners,” said Neil Vill, Chief Executive Officer, World Data Products, Inc. “Prospect Partners specializes in niche companies of our size, and its investment team has an impressive history of helping portfolio companies pursue smart expansion strategies that achieve strong results.”

Prospect Partners builds companies through selective acquisitions and fostering internal growth. The company partners with management teams to acquire profitable niche leaders and growth-ready businesses. WDPI will continue to be led by its current management team.

“World Data is run by an exceptional management team that is well-known in the IT industry,” said Rick Tuttle, a Founding Principal at Prospect Partners. “They have built the company into a top player in the highly fragmented niche IT hardware services industry by developing extensive expertise across a number of leading platforms by servicing customers throughout the entire hardware ownership cycle with solutions that are high-quality, competitively priced and immediately available. Our success has come from partnering with great management and we think this is a terrific opportunity.”

Going forward, WDPI and Prospect Partners will consider select acquisitions of companies that provide related computer and networking equipment services.

About World Data Products, Inc.(WDPI): WDPI delivers savings up to 50% or more on server, networking and storage hardware, maintenance, services and repair. Since 1987, thousands of customers have benefited from WDPI’s technical expertise, quality guarantees, immediate availability, no vendor lock-in and aggressive trade-in credit or cash for surplus equipment. Whether the goal is to stretch an IT budget or extend the life of equipment, WDPI is a trusted partner for buying, selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing and repairing IT hardware. For more information, visit www.wdpi.com.

About Prospect Partners, LLC: Prospect Partners, of Chicago, Ill., is a leading private equity firm managing $270 million in two funds. A highly experienced, active, and committed small-company investor, Prospect Partners focuses exclusively on management-led leveraged recapitalizations and acquisitions of niche market leaders. Since its inception in 1998, Prospect Partners has invested nationwide in nearly 80 companies within a broad range of niche manufacturing, distribution, and specialty service markets. For more information, visit www.prospect-partners.com.

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