North American Fund III Acquires Pronto Circuit Technologies, Inc.

CHICAGO, IL (March 24, 2000). North American Fund III announced today that it has acquired the business of Pronto Circuit Technologies, Inc., of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Simultaneously, Pronto acquired the complementary business of Graphic Products, Inc., also located in Fort Lauderdale. Terms of the transactions were not announced.

Pronto manufactures multi-layer printed circuit boards in the time-critical "quick turn" segment of the market for customers throughout the United States. Pronto routinely delivers prototype circuit boards in one to five days. The company also produces quick-turn production and ramp-to-production boards. Through established relationships with overseas production facilities for high-volume requirements, Pronto provides one-stop solutions for customers throughout the product life cycle. Pronto's current capabilities include 2-to-8 layer boards offered as standard products, with the potential to handle up to 14 layers depending on board complexity. Other capabilities include controlled impedance, buried and blind vias, and exotic materials such as Teflon. Pronto is combining its operations and those of Graphic Products into a single 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility, thus achieving economies of scale and enhancing the company's reputation for high-quality products and rapid and flexible response to customer needs.

According to Don Pucci, Pronto's President and CEO, "We are very pleased to have North American as our financial and business partner going forward. North American's involvement will allow us to continue to upgrade our capabilities and grow the business. We intend to grow significantly through internal expansion, relentless upgrading of our technological capabilities, and selected acquisitions."

North American Fund III is one of the North American Funds, partnerships of institutional investors with approximately $115 million of equity capital, that specialize in acquiring small businesses with annual revenues of $5 million to $35 million and developing them into significantly larger enterprises. Investors in the Funds are a select group of prestigious investors that includes American Family Mutual Insurance Company, Ameritech/SBC's pension trust, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, North American Company Ltd., and the University of Texas System's endowment funds. North American, headquartered in Chicago, has invested in 26 companies in a wide variety of industries since its formation in 1989.