GREENWICH, CT, December 31, 2003 -- Littlejohn & Co., LLC, a Greenwich Connecticut-based private equity firm, today announced the completion of its acquisition of the GE Superabrasives division from the General Electric Company. Diamond Innovations, as the new company will be called, has pioneered the commercialization of superabrasive products for customers throughout the world since the early 1950’s. The transaction also included the ground-breaking gem technology behind the Bellataire diamond brand. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"Diamond Innovations is clearly an industry pioneer”, said Brian Ramsay, Managing Director of Littlejohn & Co. "Led by an exceptional management team, they remain a leader in application development, technological advances, engineering support, precision manufacturing and customer service. We have successfully transitioned several carve-outs from large corporations in recent years. While their complexity requires creativity and hard work, we believe these transactions offer substantial opportunities for the employees, customers, vendors, and investors.”

Tanya Fratto, a twenty-year veteran of GE and the current business leader, will continue to head the team as CEO of the new company. "The entire Diamond Innovations team is excited about this transaction and we are all committed to continuing our 50-year tradition of focusing on customer relationships, introducing new products, and developing new applications,” said Ms. Fratto. "We are especially excited about our partnership with Littlejohn. They have a long track record of successfully investing in industrial companies and partnering with strong management teams. It’s a great fit for us.”

Littlejohn & Co., LLC is a leading private equity firm focused on the middle market. Founded in 1996, the firm manages investment funds totaling $730 million. Littlejohn focuses on corporate carve-outs, special situations, and other opportunities that can benefit from its operationally oriented investment approach. More information can be found at www.littlejohnllc.com.

Diamond Innovations, Inc. is a leading global supplier of superabrasive products and of Bellataire diamonds. The Company enjoys a strong reputation for customer service, product quality, technological innovation and application development. Superabrasives are synthetic diamond and cubic boron nitride crystals used in sawing, grinding, machining, drilling, and polishing applications spanning a wide variety of industries. These highly engineered products offer customers a lower total cost solution by increasing manufacturing efficiency, labor productivity, product quality, and tool life. Bellataire is a more recent innovation and provides tremendous opportunity in the natural diamond market. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Diamond Innovations manufactures at world-class facilities in Columbus and Dublin, Ireland and services its customers through a global team of sales-engineers and distributors.