--Establishes Hiring Solutions Group with the Addition of Skills Assessments--
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Feb. 15, 2006 --First Advantage Corporation (NASDAQ: FADV), a global risk mitigation and business solutions provider, today announced the acquisition of SkillCheck Inc., a leading international pre-employment testing and educational skills assessment company.
Combined with the recent acquisitions of applicant tracking software and recruiting services, First Advantage has created the Hiring Solutions Group within the Employer Services Segment. This group will be lead by Rick Mansfield, executive vice president of the Hiring Solutions Group, and former chief marketing officer of First Advantage Corporation.
Headquartered in Burlington, Mass., SkillCheck serves thousands of organizations and more than 15,000 installed users worldwide. Since its inception in 1988, the company has provided high quality skills testing products and services to staffing agencies, corporate human resources departments, training organizations and schools.
SkillCheck's testing helps clients effectively and efficiently measure job knowledge and skills and abilities in software, clerical, computer literacy, IT, call center, food services, retail sales, light industrial, accounting, behavioral, medical and legal areas. The company offers more than 800 products available in multiple languages for personal computers, networks and Internet deployment, plus customizes programs to meet targeted testing needs. Driven by technology, SkillCheck is also the developer of the Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC3), the new IT certification that is revolutionizing computing education worldwide.
"I am thrilled to be kicking off the year with the addition of advanced skills testing services to our Employer Services offering," said John Long, chief executive officer of First Advantage Corporation. "This latest product expansion continues to solidify the depth and breadth of our services package for human resources professionals worldwide."
"SkillCheck is delighted to be part of the complete First Advantage hiring solution," said Jon Haber, president and chief executive officer of SkillCheck Inc. "We are looking forward to incorporating our leading-edge technologies with those of First Advantage to create a powerful and comprehensive outsourced screening solution for our clients."
"First Advantage remains committed to expanding into services 'upstream' in the hiring process," said Bart Valdez, group president of the Employer Services segment. "Our recent acquisitions have given us the ability to assist clients earlier the hiring process for a more robust hiring solution—from recruiting and applicant tracking to assessment and screening."
First Advantage's Employer Services segment offers domestic and international organizations recruiting services, applicant tracking software, tax credits screening, skills assessments, background screening, occupational health services and more.
About First Advantage Corporation First Advantage Corporation (NASDAQ: FADV) combines industry expertise with information to create products and services that organizations worldwide use to make smarter business decisions. First Advantage is a leading provider of consumer credit information in the mortgage, automotive and subprime markets; business credit information in the transportation industry; lead generation services; motor vehicle record reports; supply chain security consulting; employment background verifications; occupational health services; applicant tracking systems; recruiting solutions; business tax consulting services; insurance fraud, corporate and litigation investigations; surveillance; computer forensics; electronic discovery; data recovery; due diligence reporting; resident screening; property management software; renters insurance and consumer location services. First Advantage ranks among the top three companies in all of its major business lines. First Advantage is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Fla., and has more than 3,700 employees in offices throughout the United States and abroad. More information about First Advantage can be found at www.FADV.com.
First Advantage is a majority-owned subsidiary of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF), a FORTUNE 500® company that traces its history to 1889. First American is the nation's largest data provider, supplying businesses and consumers with information resources in connection with the major economic events of people's lives. Additional information about the First American Family of Companies can be found at www.firstam.com.
Certain statements in this press release, including those related to future expansion are forward-looking. Risks and uncertainties exist that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the anticipated results to differ from those described in the forward-looking statements include: general volatility of the capital markets and the market price of the company's Class A common stock; the company's ability to successfully raise capital; the company's ability to identify and complete acquisitions and successfully integrate businesses it acquires; changes in applicable government regulations; the degree and nature of the company's competition; increases in the company's expenses; continued consolidation among the company's competitors and customers; unanticipated technological changes and requirements; the company's ability to identify suppliers of quality and cost-effective data, and other risks identified from time-to-time in the company's SEC filings. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. The company does not undertake to update forward- looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made. Investors are advised to consult the company's filings with the SEC, including its 2004 Annual Report on Form 10-K, for a further discussion of these and other risks.
First Advantage Contacts:
Renee Svec
Director of Marketing & Communications
727.214.3411, ext. 5212
rsvec@FADV.com
Cindy Williams
Investor Relations Manager
727.214.3411, ext. 5260
clwilliams@FADV.com
