Merger Combines Best-In-Class Education Payment Plan System With KeyBank National Education Lending Solutions CLEVELAND, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- KeyBank N.A., a subsidiaryof KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), today announced the signing of a definitiveagreement to acquire Tuition Management Systems, Inc. (TMS), a leadingprovider of outsourced tuition planning, billing, counseling, payment andrelated technology services for colleges, universities, and elementary andsecondary educational institutions. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in the thirdquarter of 2007, were not disclosed. Headquartered in Warwick, RI, TMS is an industry leader and innovatorin the four-year higher education and K-12 markets. TMS will operate as adivision of Key Education Resources (KER), a KeyBank business unit, whichprovides education financing products to undergraduates, graduate studentsand parents nationwide. KER is a unit of Key's National Financeorganization, which comprises Key's national consumer and corporate bankingbusiness units. "Combining TMS's best-in-class payment plan systems and technology withKey's array of education loan products will create one of the largest, mostrobust payment plan offerings in the nation," said Paul A. Larkins, KeyNational Finance president and chief executive officer. "Our objective isto deliver to our clients the best possible grouping of finance productsand services, and the acquisition of TMS is certain to help us achieve thisgoal." "From day one, our company's mission has been to provide options thatmake education more affordable for families across the country," saidSteven Dodd, TMS's chief executive officer. "Key shares that mission, andby joining forces, we will now be able to offer our clients the completearray of products, services and resources of one of the largest, mostreputable financial organizations in the nation." Combined, KER and TMS will help more than 750,000 families payapproximately $5 billion annually in K-12, and college and universityexpenses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The combinationwill enable KER to continue with its open architecture platform, whichprovides independent choices for families to identify affordable financingalternatives in the rapidly changing educational finance industry. "TMS's two decades of experience have enabled it to developbest-in-class processes that utilize both on- and off-campus resources tomake education more affordable by minimizing debt," said Rick Vonk, KERpresident. "The addition of this industry-leading payment programeffectively complements the Key suite of products. We're excited to be ableto provide even more options to our clients looking for a smart way tofinance education expenses." About Tuition Management Systems Tuition Management Systems, Inc. is one of the nation's largestproviders of outsourced tuition planning, billing, counseling, payment andrelated technology services. Based in Warwick, RI, Tuition ManagementSystems' mission is to help families make education more affordable. Itexclusively serves more than 700 colleges, universities, elementary andsecondary educational institutions. In 2006, nearly 400,000 customers atthese schools paid over $2 billion through Tuition Management Systems. Formore information, visit http://www.afford.com. About Key Education Resources Key Education Resources, a unit of Key's National Finance organization,and the education financing arm of KeyBank is one of the largest educationloan providers in the U.S. In business for more than 50 years, KeyEducation Resources provides federal education loans, private loans,monthly payment plans and education consolidation loans for students andfamilies in K-12, undergraduate, graduate and professional educationinstitutions. For more information, visit http://www.Key.com/educate. About Key National Finance Key National Finance includes the Equipment Finance and ConsumerFinance businesses of KeyCorp. Equipment Finance professionals meet theequipment leasing and financing needs of businesses of all sizes andprovide global equipment manufacturers, distributors and resellers withfinancing options for their clients. Consumer Finance provides federal andprivate education loans and payment plans for students and their parents;makes marine loans through multiple channels; finances dealer inventoriesof automobiles, recreation vehicles and watercraft; makes home improvementloans through dealers; and provides payroll solutions for businesses of allsizes. Key National Finance's five businesses total more than $29 billionin managed assets and nearly 1,700 employees in 26 countries. For moreinformation on Key National Finance, visit http://www.knfonline.com/ About KeyCorp Cleveland-based KeyCorp is one of the nation's largest bank-basedfinancial services companies, with assets of approximately $94 billion. Keycompanies provide investment management, retail and commercial banking,consumer finance, and investment banking products and services toindividuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certainbusinesses, internationally. Find out more information athttps://www.key.com/.
