Clarity Partners – Communications, Media and Business Services Private Equity Investors

Clarity Partners Acquires Majority Interest In Modern Luxury Media

Partnership Fuels Growth for America’s Largest Publisher of City-Regional Magazines

LOS ANGELES, – May 31, 2007 – Clarity Partners LP, (“Clarity”) one of the nation’s leading media-focused private equity funds, has acquired a controlling interest in Modern Luxury Media, LLC, (“Modern Luxury”) the nation’s largest publisher of luxury city-regional magazines. Clarity, a Los Angeles-based communications and media-focused private equity firm with over $1 billion under management, is the lead investor in the new ownership group that includes co-investment from Lehman Brothers and various debt financing elements from Credit Suisse and NewStar Financial.

Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the deal is valued at several hundred million dollars. Clarity acquired its stake from Shamrock Capital, a media-focused fund also based in Los Angeles and founded by Roy E. Disney, which invested in Modern Luxury in 2004 for $50 million. The entire Modern Luxury management team, led by Michael Kong, Stephen Kong and John Carroll will remain with the Company.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Clarity as our partner,” said Michael Kong, founder and CEO of Modern Luxury. “This transaction has been deliberate and extensive, and my partners and I have spent a lot of time looking for the right investor to help us continue to grow over the next several years. We are quite pleased with the outcome of this process, which resulted in a valuation for the Company that exceeded Shamrock’s original investment by several times, and a partner that will help us continue to grow at a rapid pace both organically and through acquisitions.”

Stephen Kong, Modern Luxury Managing Director of National Sales and head of the New York office, stated “Clarity’s success with other leading media companies, its location in our corporate backyard in Los Angeles, and its deep connections both domestically and internationally make it an ideal investor.”

Modern Luxury President, John Carroll, added “We look forward to working with Clarity on the many growth initiatives we currently have in place, including additional geographic expansion, strategic acquisitions, expansion within existing markets and the deployment of our online strategy.”

Josh Gutfreund, a general partner at Clarity, said, “Clarity is excited to become Modern Luxury’s financial partner. The Modern Luxury team has demonstrated extraordinary vision and remarkable growth, quickly becoming the leading publisher of luxury format city-regional magazines in the marketplace today. Modern Luxury is the only magazine publisher in America that can reach affluent readers with a luxury, localized magazine at the same time that it offers advertisers complete national coverage of every major market in the country.” Modern Luxury currently reaches more than 3.5 million readers per month nationwide.

“Over the next several weeks, we plan to make several significant announcements that will lead to more growth and expansion,” said Michael Kong.

Modern Luxury was represented by Louis Samson, managing director - Mergers & Acquisitions and Andrew Moore, managing director - Media, at CIBC World Markets in New York.

About Modern Luxury Media
Modern Luxury was founded by Michael Kong, Stacy Twilley (Michael Kong’s wife) and Stephen Kong in Chicago in 1994 with one magazine CS (formerly Chicago Social). Today Modern Luxury is the largest publisher of city-regional magazines in America, publishing 25 titles across 12 major metropolitan markets including CS (Chicago), Angeleno (Los Angeles), Riviera (Orange Co. and San Diego), Modern Luxury Dallas, Houston magazine, San Francisco magazine, Napa/Sonoma magazine, The Atlantan, DC magazine and Modern Luxury Hawai’i. The company will premiere its newest magazine, Miami, this September. In addition, Modern Luxury owns and operates the Front Desk series of luxury in-room hotel magazines as well as other magazines related to men, bridal and interior design.

About Clarity Partners
Clarity Partners is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm focused on investments in media, communications, and business services. Clarity’s partners have invested together since the 1980s. Clarity’s transactions have included growth investments, leveraged acquisitions and build-ups, joint ventures, and recapitalizations. Some of Clarity's other investments include ImpreMedia, the leading publisher of Spanish language newspapers in the U.S. (including La Opinion in Los Angeles and El Diario in New York); Oxygen Media, the cable programming network targeting women reaching over 71 million subscribers; Crescent Entertainment/Village Roadshow Pictures, a filmed entertainment library and production company with ownership interests in several major motion pictures including “The Matrix” trilogy, “Ocean’s 11”, “12” and “13”, and “Happy Feet”; Vue Entertainment, a leading chain of movie theaters in the United Kingdom; Naylor Publications, a business information and media company partnering with trade associations; and, TelePacific Communications, the leading competitive local exchange carrier in California. Clarity’s principals have a long history of creating, operating, and investing in highly successful and innovative companies, including pre-Clarity investments such as Univision, WebTV, and Global Crossing. Clarity has an affiliated fund, Clarity China, with additional offices in Beijing and Shanghai, which makes private equity investments in that country. www.claritypartners.net.

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