$2.4 Billion for Readers' Digest

Ripplewood Holdings LLC has agreed to lead a public-to-private buyout of The Readers’ Digest Association Inc. (NYSE: RDA) for $17 per share. The total deal is valued at $2.4 billion, with other members of the buying consortium including J. Rothschild Group, GoldenTree Asset Management, GSO Capital Partners, Merrill Lynch Capital and Magnetar Capital. Leverage is being provided by JPMorgan, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and Royal Bank of < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Scotland, while Merrill Lynch advised RDA on the deal. It is expected to close in Q1 2007. www.readersdigest.com