FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2006
Huron
Consulting Group Acquires
Aaxis Technologies and Document Review Consulting
Services, LLC
Acquisitions
Bolster HuronÕs Service Offerings to the Legal Community
CHICAGO - August 1, 2006 - Huron Consulting Group
Inc. (NASDAQ: HURN), a leading provider of financial and operational consulting
services, today announced the acquisitions of Aaxis
Technologies and Document Review Consulting Services, LLC to enhance the
CompanyÕs service offerings to the office of the general counsel and their law
firms.
ÒThe advent of communication technologies has created a
document explosion, and legal counsel need experts to manage the proliferation
of printed and electronic documents,Ó said Gary E. Holdren, chairman and chief
executive officer, Huron Consulting Group. ÒThe acquisitions of Aaxis
Technologies and Document Review Consulting Services, LLC bolsters HuronÕs
ability to help the office of the general counsel manage information in a
comprehensive manner in litigation, investigations, and mergers and
acquisitions, and other major transactions.Ó
Aaxis Technologies, based in Washington, D.C.,
provides full-service electronic data discovery support to litigation teams and
corporate counsel across the country with a focus on forensics and data
gathering, end-to-end data processing, and information consulting.
Eric Ansley, president, Aaxis Technologies said, ÒJoining forces with Huron will enable us to provide a broader range of services to clients in the legal community. We have worked on client assignments with Huron in the past, and we have a great deal of respect for their reputation, capabilities, and market presence.Ó
Document Review Consulting Services, LLC
(ÒDRCSÓ) is based in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The management team of DRCS,
which formerly operated NEXTRA Litigation Solutions, LLC, will continue to
provide a comprehensive document review business using experienced contract
reviewers. The utilization of experienced contract reviewers allows for
cost-effective and flexible solutions to meet client needs.
Bob Rowe, president, Document Review Consulting Services, LLC said, ÒWe and Huron are believers in providing solutions-oriented services to clients, and this transaction will enable our clients to benefit from a broad portfolio of litigation support and review services.Ó
Under the terms of the
purchase agreements, Huron has acquired all the assets of one company and the
stock of the other company, including approximately $6 million of accounts
receivable, for an aggregate purchase price of $24 million. On a combined
basis, Aaxis Technologies and Document Review Consulting Services, LLC had
unaudited trailing 12 month revenues of approximately $18 million.
The acquisitions of these two companies
provide more than the addition of their existing business to Huron. Both
companies have established facilities and proven methodologies, solutions, and
workforces that will expand HuronÕs service offerings to its current general
counsel and law firm clients.
Huron expects that the acquisitions will be accretive to 2006 earnings and will provide guidance updates when it releases results for the second quarter of 2006.
About Huron Consulting Group
Huron Consulting Group helps clients effectively address complex challenges
that arise in litigation, disputes, investigations, regulatory compliance,
procurement, financial distress, and other sources of significant conflict or
change. The Company also helps clients deliver superior customer and capital
market performance through integrated strategic, operational, and
organizational change. Huron provides services to a wide variety of both
financially sound and distressed organizations, including Fortune 500
companies, medium-sized businesses, leading academic institutions, healthcare
organizations, and the law firms that represent these various organizations.
Learn more at www.huronconsultinggroup.com
Statements in this press release, which are not
historical in nature and concern Huron Consulting GroupÕs current expectations about
the companyÕs reported results for 2006 and future results in 2006 are
"forward-looking" statements as defined in Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as Òmay,Ó
Òshould,Ó Òexpects,Ó Òplans,Ó Òanticipates,Ó Òbelieves,Ó Òestimates,Ó or
Òcontinue.Ó These forward-looking statements reflect our current expectation
about our future results, performance or achievements, including without
limitation, that our business continues to grow at the current expectations
with respect to, among other factors, utilization and billing rates and number
of consultants; that we are able to expand our service offerings through our
existing consultants and new hires; and that existing market conditions do not
change from current expectations. These statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results,
performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. Therefore you should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. Please see ÒRisk FactorsÓ in
our Form 10-K and in other documents we file with the Securities and
Exchange Commission for a complete description of the material risks we face.
Media Contact:
Jennifer Frost
Hennagir
312-880-3260
jfrost-hennagir@huronconsultinggroup.com
Investor Contact:
Gary L. Burge, Chief Financial Officer
312-583-8722
garyburge@huronconsultinggroup.com