New York, October 17, 2001 - Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York-based merchant bank, announced today that it had completed the sale of Worldwide Flight Services of Fort Worth, Texas, the world's leading independent provider of ground services to the aviation industry, to Vinci, S.A., a French global conglomerate based in Paris.

At closing, the transaction value, including working capital and other adjustments, was $285 million. Castle Harlan initially announced its agreement to sell to Vinci September 10.

Marcel Fournier, a managing director who negotiated the transaction for Castle Harlan, expressed satisfaction with the outcome, particularly in light of the terrorist attacks on the United States September 11 and the concerns they raised.

"The closing of this transaction is a tribute to the strength of Worldwide Flight Services as a company," he said, "and a sign of great confidence in the resilience of the airline industry. Airlines will continue to fly, and they will continue to need the services that Worldwide is providing so effectively at major airports around the world."

Castle Harlan had acquired Worldwide Flight Services in April 1999 from AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, on behalf of Castle Harlan Partners III, L.P., a $630 million private equity investment fund that Castle Harlan organized and manages. Subsequently, Castle Harlan had built WFS by acquiring Miami Aircraft Support, Inc., Aerolink International, Inc., Oxford Airport Technical Services and Airline Container Leasing, Inc.

Worldwide had revenues last year of approximately $345 million. Formerly called AMR Services, it provides cargo, passenger and ramp handling and a variety of technical services to more than 300 airlines and airport authorities in 894 airports around the world. It has some 12,000 employees.

Among the airports Worldwide serves are Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark in the New York area, O'Hare in Chicago and the new Chek Lap Kok international airport in Hong Kong.

Vinci is a $17 billion global conglomerate involved in major construction projects, road-building, energy and information and concessions, such as toll roads and bridges and parking facilities. It has 115,000 employees throughout the world.

Castle Harlan was founded in 1987 by John K. Castle, former president & chief executive officer of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, the investment banking firm, and Leonard M. Harlan, founder and former chairman of The Harlan Company.

Since its founding in 1987, Castle Harlan has completed acquisitions exceeding $4.5 billion. Its portfolio companies include Gravograph Industrie International, the world's leading maker and seller of machines, accessories and materials used in the engraving industry; Universal Compression, a leading independent provider of natural gas compression equipment and services; and Commemorative Brands, producer of class rings under the Balfour and ArtCarved labels, college and high school yearbooks and other similar academic and scholastic materials.