First Advantage Corporation Announces Investment in PrideRock Holding

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First Advantage Corporation , a leading risk mitigation and business solutions provider, today announced that it has acquired majority ownership of PrideRock Holding Company, Inc., a leading biometrics provider of outsourced fingerprint and data management technology, serving both corporate end users and screening services providers.

Based in Atlanta, PrideRock provides background screening solutions for employers in transportation, financial services, healthcare and other industries by providing an outsourced network of locations for digitally capturing and transmitting applicants' and employees' fingerprints directly to federal and state law enforcement agencies, often referred to as channeling agents. The company's proprietary system is capable of digitizing fingerprint images using either a LiveScan fingerprint deck or traditional paper cards and transmitting the records to the customer's requested channeling agent. PrideRock's best-in-class offering easily integrates with the customer's applicant tracking system -- providing both front-end alerts and back-end XML reporting -- or seamlessly plugs into the process flows of screening service providers offering fingerprinting to their client base.

First Advantage and PrideRock formed a formal partnership in November 2004 to address the growing demand for fingerprinting in the employment screening process. The synergies of the companies, initial successes and market trends, as well as First Advantage's desire to expand into biometrics as part of its growth strategy, propelled the relationship from that of partnership to ownership.

"Biometrics is the future of screening, not only in the employment world, but also, quite possibly, for other homeland security concerns where consumer identification is critical," said John Long, chief executive officer of First Advantage Corporation. "As a leading risk mitigation company addressing such security concerns, investing in PrideRock solidifies our partnership and allows us to efficiently provide more comprehensive, insightful information for our clients' business decision needs."

"When you overlay the growing demand for biometrics in our key industries with First Advantage's success in these industries, the cross selling and product development opportunities are significant and, frankly, quite exciting," said Mark Peterson, chief executive officer and president of PrideRock Holding Company. "The PrideRock/First Advantage partnership will accelerate the roll-out of an international infrastructure where biometrics can be captured anywhere at anytime -- ultimately benefiting corporate clients, government agencies and other screening vendor partners."

Mitch Duitz, chief technology officer of PrideRock, added, "First Advantage's financial backing and added resources will enable us to extend our leadership in developing innovative privacy focused technologies for protecting sensitive customer data. It will also enable us to further enhance PrideRock's site network to meet the growing demand for our biometric offering both domestically and internationally."

About First Advantage Corporation

First Advantage Corporation provides best-in-class single- source solutions for global risk mitigation and enterprise and consumer screening needs. Incorporating state-of-the-art technology, proprietary systems and data resources, First Advantage is a leading provider of employment background screening, drug-free workplace programs and other occupational health testing, corporate tax consulting services, resident screening, motor vehicle records, transportation credit reporting, investigative services (including computer forensics, data recovery, electronic discovery, and surveillance), supply chain security consulting, 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 1,800 employees in offices throughout the United States and abroad. Further information about the company is available at http://www.fadv.com/.

First Advantage is a majority-owned subsidiary of The First American Corporation , 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 http://www.firstam.com/.

This press release contains statements relating to future results of the company that are considered "forward-looking statements." These statements, which may be expressed in a variety of ways, including the use of future or present tense language, relate to, among other things, cross selling opportunities and enhanced products and services. These forward-looking statements, and other forward-looking statements contained in other public disclosures of the company, are based on assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties and that are subject to change based on various important factors (some of which are beyond the company's control). 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; and the company's ability to identify suppliers of quality and cost-effective data. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied as a result of these risks and uncertainties. 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.

First Advantage Contacts: Renee Svec Cindy Williams Director of Marketing & Communications Investor Relations Manager 727.214.3411, ext. 212 727.214.3438, ext. 260 rsvec@fadv.com clwilliams@fadv.com