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BUER (OTCBB) Bauer Acquires $30 Million Bank & Credit Card Debt Portfolio from Swiss Investment Group

TUESDAY , DECEMBER 17, 2002 08:30 AM

NEW YORK, Dec 17, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- The Bauer Partnership, Inc. announced today that it has entered into an agreement through Bauer Debt Purchasing Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bauer Partnership, Inc., to acquire a $30,000,000 Bank and Credit Card Debt portfolio from a large Swiss Investment Group, EH & P Investments AG of Zurich, Switzerland. The $30,000,000 debt portfolio is comprised of US based debtors, averaging $1,600 per debtor and approximately 19,000 debtors.

Bauer has acquired the $30,000,000 debt portfolio for $2,000,000 in restricted shares. The 10M shares will be issued at $0.20 per share and pursuant to a two-year lock-up agreement.

Bauer Debt expects to enter into revenue sharing agreements with various national debt collection agencies in order to convert such portfolios into performing debt.

Additional announcements are expected as to Bauer's growth strategy in this exciting segment of the debt purchasing and collection industry.

"This proves our ability to utilize our common stock as a viable currency in the acquisition of diversified assets. We will attempt to convert these large debt portfolios into performing debt and consistent monthly revenues to the company. We will continue to grow and acquire additional debt portfolios. With the current economic downturn and growth in consumer debt we believe that the debt purchasing market offers BAUER tremendous growth potential," said Ronald J. Bauer, CEO & Founder of BAUER.

Industry leaders estimate that the face value of debt purchased grew from $50 billion in 1999 to $60 billion in 2000-an increase of 20 percent. Based on the assumption that an equal amount of debt is purchased in the primary, secondary and tertiary markets, Kaulkin Ginsberg, a leading Debt Broker, estimates the value of purchase debt at $2.4 billion. With an average return of 150 percent, that puts the value of revenues for this category at $3.6 billion.

Debt purchasing has always been a part of the collection industry. Its role and function in the industry, however, is evolving at a rapid pace. The battle over the banking giant Wachovia illustrates this. In early April of this year banking giant, Wachovia, announced a deal to sell its credit card portfolio to Bank One (which issues cards under the name of First USA) for an estimated $2 billion. When a credit card portfolio is sold, the buyer generally takes over the cardholder accounts and acts as the selling bank's agent for issuing new cards. Bank One (First USA) now owns Wachovia's credit cards.

About BAUER

The Bauer Partnership, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BUER) is a diversified holding company that specializes in acquiring and developing cash-flow positive Real Estate assets, Sports and Leisure acquisition opportunities and Resource oriented ventures.

"Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions contained in the foregoing are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. It is possible that the assumptions made by management are not necessarily the most likely and may not materialize. In addition, other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: business conditions and the amount of growth in the Company's industry and general economy; competitive factors; ability to attract and retain personnel; the price of the Company's stock; and the risk factors set forth from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including but not limited to its annual report on Form 10-KSB; its quarterly reports on Forms 10-QSB; and any reports on Form 8-K. BAUER takes no obligation to update or correct forward-looking statements.



Contact: The Bauer Partnership, Inc., New York
Press Contact: Ronald J. Bauer, CEO, [phone]
[e-mail]

Web site: http://www.bauer-partnership.com

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SOURCE Bauer Partnership, Inc.


CONTACT: Ronald J. Bauer, CEO, Bauer Partnership, Inc., [phone],
[e-mail]

URL: http://www.bauer-partnership.com
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