For Immediate Release
April 30, 2003

Sterling is leading Business Services company focused on pre-employment screening

Generation Partners, a $325 million private investment firm, announced today that it has completed a $9.25 million investment in Sterling Testing Systems, Inc., (“Sterling”) a leading provider of pre-employment screening services. Founded in 1975, Sterling has experienced rapid growth, with compound annual growth rates in excess of 30% over the last five years.

Headquartered in New York City, Sterling provides pre-employment screening services which enable its clients to screen potential hires for undisclosed risk factors such as prior criminal activity, drug use, and/or falsified credentials. The Company’s services include: criminal record history, drug testing, social security verification, DMV record history, credit history, employment verification, reference checking, tenant screening, skills assessment and integrity/honesty testing. A typical client contracts with Sterling to provide these services on a multi-year basis with fees based on the number of transactions and the type of services selected.

The company services over 2,000 customers across multiple industries including healthcare, retail, manufacturing, financial services and telecommunications. Current notable customers include: Staples, Time Warner Cable, Con Edison, Banco Popular, Bed Bath and Beyond, Fiserv, Cigna, Mass Mutual, Nordstrom, Moody’s, Barclays, Colgate-Palmolive, Eastman Kodak, Virgin Atlantic, Harvard University, New York University, Nikon, Canon, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Comcast, and Sullivan & Cromwell.

The U.S. Background Screening market is estimated to be over $1 billion and growing rapidly due to 1) increasing awareness of the risk and costs of poor hiring decisions; 2) heightened concerns over security; 3) increased fraud; and 4) expansion of services to include contract and freelance workers, vendors and temporary or part-time employees.

“We were attracted by the quality of management, the strength of Sterling’s recurring-revenue, transaction-based business model and the growing industry,” said Mark Jennings, Managing General Partner of Generation Partners. “CEO Bill Greenblatt has built an outstanding business through a relentless focus on customer service and satisfaction. Sterling is rapidly winning new customers with over 900 new customers added in 2002, while at the same time maintaining the highest customer retention rates we have seen in a business of this type. The Company has excellent technology with fully automated data entry and access to provide the fastest, most accurate information in this industry.” Mr. Jennings has been elected to Sterling’s Board of Directors.

Sterling CEO Bill Greenblatt commented, "Generation Partners is an excellent fit with our company; they understand our business and have a great track record of building business services companies. I look forward to working with them as we continue to grow both organically as well as through selective acquisitions."

About Sterling Testing Systems
Sterling Testing Systems was founded in 1975 and is a leading information services company focused on the pre-employment screening market. Sterling is headquartered in New York City and services over 2,000 customers across a number of industries including: healthcare, retail, manufacturing, financial services, telecommunications and technology. The Company’s services include: criminal record history, drug testing, social security verification, DMV record history, credit history, employment verification, reference checking, tenant screening, skills assessment and integrity/honesty testing. Current notable customers include: Staples, Time Warner Cable, Con Edison, Banco Popular, Bed Bath and Beyond, Fiserv, Cigna, Mass Mutual, Nordstrom, Moody’s, Barclays, Colgate-Palmolive, Eastman Kodak, Virgin Atlantic, Harvard University, New York University, Nikon, Canon, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Comcast, and Sullivan & Cromwell.
For more information please visit www.sterlingtesting.com.

About Generation Partners
Generation Partners is a $325 million private investment firm focused on providing equity capital to technology-oriented growth companies through buyout, growth equity, and venture capital investments. The firm targets $3-20 million investments focused primarily on 1) Business Services/Outsourcing 2) Information Services/Media/Communications and 3) Other businesses for which technology is a key element of strategy. Some of Generation's portfolio companies include: Agility Recovery Solutions, High End Systems, Hotjobs, Promatory Communications, and American Cellular Corp. The firm has offices in Greenwich, CT and San Francisco, CA. For more information on Generation Partners, please visit www.generation.com.