RESTON, Virginia, July 9 /PRNewswire/ --

Gate Gourmet today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire
deSter Holding BV of Amsterdam, the world's leading supplier of airline
passenger contact and comfort items, such as cutlery, chinaware and amenity
kits. deSter also owns Supplair, the leading provider of alternative airline
meal solutions assembled off-airport.

Private equity fund group EQT has owned deSter since 1999. The company,
which had sales of euro 235 million in 2006, has operations on three
continents and over 350 airlines as customers.

Since its successful restructuring and refinancings, Gate Gourmet has
focused on a business model that goes beyond traditional catering and
logistics to include a broader range of inflight solutions for airlines.

"We are building a best-in-class portfolio that offers the full array of
inflight products and services to our customers, and the addition of deSter
will propel Gate Gourmet forward in that strategy," said David Siegel,
Chairman and CEO. "This transaction, and others recently announced, is a
clear signal that Gate Gourmet is healthy, growing and open for business as
the global pacesetter of airline inflight solutions."

Siegel said the acquisition of deSter and its sub-brands demonstrates the
company's commitment to meet customers' needs. "Airlines have told us they
want flexibility, innovation and alternative options. Our evolving business
line will offer exactly that," he said.

"The addition of Supplair is an important extension for Gate Gourmet. By
offering airlines a competing option to its traditional on-airport food
preparation model, Gate Gourmet is demonstrating its commitment to serve
customers across the spectrum of their needs," Siegel said. "In addition,
combining Supplair with Gate Gourmet's logistics and handling capabilities in
the 'last mile to the airplane' puts Gate Gourmet in a unique position to
better serve the rapidly growing low-cost carrier market," he explained.

The transaction, for which details were not disclosed, is subject to
review by competition authorities in various jurisdictions around the world.

deSter was founded in 1936 and employs approximately 1,000 employees. It
operates assembly units and warehouses throughout Europe and the U.S. and has
production facilities in Hoogstraten, Belgium, and Prachinburi, Thailand.

The company offers four industry-leading brands:

    -- deSter designs and produces reusable and disposable plastic airline
       and retail contact items such as trays, glasses and cutlery. The two
       factories supply items for the deSter brand.

    -- Virtuoso focuses on higher end chinaware and contact items for premium
       class cabins.

    -- Harmony provides a full range of comfort items, including amenity kits
       with strong brand name contents, as well as hygiene and gift items.

Supplair offers value and convenience with branded, packaged food
components assembled at central production units in Europe and the U.S. It
also offers supply chain management, warehousing and distribution facilities
and product sourcing and service concept development.

"We intend to take advantage of synergies between the deSter brands and
businesses we already own or have recently acquired," Siegel said. For
instance, the design and packaging capabilities within deSter and those of
recent acquisitions Packattack and POTM of the Netherlands complement each
other, as do Gate Gourmet's FiveOceans subsidiary and Harmony.

"Our goal is to be flexible, nimble and responsive to our customers'
varying requirements. This transaction goes a long way to accomplish that,"
Siegel said. "deSter's employees brings a wealth of talent, experience and
creativity to the company, and we are very excited to welcome them to the
Gate Gourmet family," he added.

Founded in 1992, Gate Gourmet is the world's largest independent airline
catering and logistics company with dual headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland,
and Reston, VA, USA. Revenue in 2006 was 2.4 billion Swiss francs. With
approximately 20,000 employees worldwide, Gate Gourmet produces an average of
200 million meals annually, serving customers from 95 flight kitchens in 26
different countries and five continents. Visit our Web site at
www.gategourmet.com.

Web site: http://www.gategourmet.com