WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 5, 2006--Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NASDAQ: BFAM), the world's leading provider of employer-sponsored early education and strategic work/life solutions today announced it has acquired College Coach, the nation's leading provider of employer-sponsored college admissions support services.

By adding College Coach to its family of offerings, Bright Horizons enhances its ability to help its client companies support employees and their families through all of life's stages from child care and early education, to school-age programs, to homework and college admissions assistance, to back-up elder care services. "We are thrilled to welcome the College Coach clients to the Bright Horizons family and believe that we have found a partner with an innovative set of programs that is committed to high-quality service," said Bright Horizons Chief Executive Officer David Lissy.

"This new service offering expands our ability to serve a broader base of any individual employer's workforce. At the same time, by joining with Bright Horizons, College Coach will now have the resources and distribution it needs to maximize its long-term growth potential. College Coach pioneered the concept of offering in-depth employer based services that assist employees and their children through the stressful and time-consuming process of choosing, applying to, and getting into the college of their choice. They have served more than 50,000 families at more than 50 of the nation's top employers including Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Genzyme, Cisco Systems, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and Qwest, helping their clients retain quality employees, enhance productivity and build company loyalty by providing the resources employees need to realize their families' educational goals," continued Lissy.

In 2005, 16.7 million high school students applied to college, 1.2 million more than in 2000. The number of seats available at U.S. colleges and universities has not nearly kept pace. The competition for admission to the nation's most prestigious institutions of higher education, including the Ivy League, has increased at an even greater rate. At the same time, there is only one guidance counselor for every 500 students in the nation. This leaves parents stressed and struggling to learn about and support their teens through the confusing, complex and competitive admissions process while they also search for ways to meet the spiraling costs of higher education. For employers this translates into increased stress and distraction and reduced productivity among employees facing this challenge. Just as Bright Horizons supports employers with a strong return on their investment in child care, so too has College Coach been able to demonstrate a proven ROI to clients through increased retention and productivity and enhanced employee loyalty.

College Coach, which was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Newton, MA, has annualized revenues of approximately $6 million. Its founders and co-presidents Stephen Kramer and Michael London will lead the College Coach division of Bright Horizons, bringing with them the talented team of staff and educators who serve clients' needs while helping families with workshops and one-on-one counseling on topics ranging from saving for college to homework and study skills to selecting the right college and preparing college applications.

London said, "We are excited to have found a permanent home and partner in Bright Horizons. The increasingly competitive field of college admissions provides limitless potential for growth, and Bright Horizons will give us the place and platform to take advantage of those opportunities." Kramer added, "We have long admired Bright Horizons and have modeled our work/life strategies on their successful record. We are thrilled to have joined a family that will provide a strong operational, strategic, and cultural fit for the business we built and are eager to grow."

The all cash transaction closed on August 31, 2006.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (www.brighthorizons.com) is the world leader in strategic work/life solutions, including employer-sponsored child care, early education and work/life consulting services, managing more than 600 early care and family centers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. Bright Horizons serves more than 600 clients, including more than 95 FORTUNE 500 companies and more than half of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers," as recognized by Working Mother magazine. Bright Horizons is one of FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For."

This press release contains forward-looking statements which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Bright Horizons Family Solutions' actual results may vary significantly from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors. These include the ability of the Company to 1) execute contracts relating to new commitments and renew contracts with acquired or existing clients, 2) enroll families in new as well as existing centers, and 3) open new centers, as well as other factors that are discussed in detail in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CONTACT: Bright Horizons Family Solutions
Investor Contact:
Elizabeth Boland, 617-673-8000
eboland@brighthorizons.com
or
Media Contact:
Ilene Serpa, 617-673-8044
iserpa@brighthorizons.com

SOURCE: Bright Horizons Family Solutions