Press Room

TRANSPORTATION RESOURCE PARTNERS ANNOUNCES PURCHASE OF HOMEDIRECT, INC.

Bloomfield Hills, MI – December 16, 2005 – Transportation Resource Partners, LP (TRP), a private equity firm focused on investing in the transportation industry, announced that it has acquired HomeDirect, Inc. (“HomeDirect” or the “Company”) from The Bekins Group of companies.

HomeDirect, headquartered in Hillside, IL, is a leading asset light supply chain company providing transportation services and delivery and assembly of large consumer goods (> 150 lbs.) directly into consumers’ homes. HomeDirect’s services include delivery of consumer durables such as furniture, electronics, fitness equipment, and home improvement products for many of the most successful and prestigious retailers in North America. Through its network of 89 third-party distribution centers, HomeDirect will ship over 570,000 units in 2005.

Brian Gallagher, CEO of HomeDirect, said, “Through our hard work and commitment to customer service and solid execution, HomeDirect has achieved substantial growth since its founding in 1999. As we enter the next phase of our growth, we are excited to have TRP as a partner. With the help of their resources and know-how we are positioned to become an even stronger brand, with unparalleled logistics capabilities.”

Rich Peters, Managing Director of TRP said, “With consumers increasingly buying large, valuable items site unseen on the internet, through catalogs, and on television, we believe that the home delivery segment is going to continue to grow at an attractive rate. At the same time, customer expectations for premier service levels continue to grow. Under Brian’s leadership, HomeDirect has become the preeminent provider of premium last mile delivery for large consumer goods, and their rapidly growing client base of premier retail providers is evidence of the impressive job the management team has done. We see numerous opportunities to leverage our organization’s resources to provide additional support to Brian and his team.”

Transportation Resource Partners, LP is a $265 million private equity fund that makes leveraged investments in growth-oriented companies operating in the Transportation and Transportation Services Industries. TRP's philosophy is to identify attractive investment situations where it can work in partnership with management to support growth. TRP's principals have extensive operating and investing experience in the Transportation Industry. TRP, along with its predecessor fund, Penske Capital Partners, has been responsible for managing over $600 million of equity capital. For more information on TRP please visit www.trpfund.com and for more information on HomeDirect please visit www.homedirectusa.com.

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Contact:
Transportation Resource Partners

Richard J. Peters Managing Director 248-648-2100

James A. Hislop Managing Director 201-325-3093