Pareto announces acquisition of Direct Sales Force

TORONTO , Jan. 12 /CNW/ - Pareto Corporation (TSX: PTO), a leading shopper marketing company, today announced that it has acquired Direct Sales Force Inc. (DSF), a Canadian intercept marketing and sales company. The acquisition also includes the operations of Direct Branding Force (DBF), which provides experiential marketing solutions.

DSF and DBF will continue to be managed by founders Neil Spivack and Michael Kuipers , both of whom have committed to remain with Pareto. There are no planned employee redundancies associated with this acquisition.

"Direct Sales Force is recognized as the nationwide leader in results driven location based sales and marketing services. We are very excited about this acquisition, which will further strengthen our leadership position in the Shopper Marketing space," said Kerry Shapansky, President and CEO of Pareto. "An in-store direct selling capability is something our clients have been asking us for and the culture and philosophy DSF has built fits very well with Pareto."

Established in 2003, DSF and DBF clients include some of Canada's leading consumer brands and the company has a national presence with offices in Toronto , Montreal , Ottawa , Halifax , Saskatoon, Calgary , Edmonton and Vancouver .

"This transaction represents a win for our company, our customers, and our employees," said Mr. Spivack , President of Direct Sales Force. "I am pleased that we found a partner that will enable us to continue to grow our business by expanding our service offerings to our clients, while also providing our existing services to Pareto clients."

The acquisition is effective January 1, 2010 and is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings and generate in excess of $10 million of revenues in 2010 at similar margins to existing Pareto services.

About Pareto Corporation

Pareto Corporation is Canada's leading shopper marketing firm. Pareto offers shopper marketing solutions to leading companies across a broad range of industry sectors. Our success is based on our proven ability to drive measurable increases in our clients' sales by enhancing the shopper experience and influencing consumer behaviour. We provide quantifiable services that complement our clients' marketing and sales departments. For more information, please visit our website at www.pareto.ca.

This press release contains forward-looking statements related to expected future events and financial operating results of Pareto that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from management expectations as projected in such forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons, including market and general economic conditions and the risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Pareto's SEDAR filings.

For further information: Kerry Shapansky, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pareto Corporation, [phone]; Karen Trudell, Chief Financial Officer, Pareto Corporation, [phone]; Glen Williams, Investor Relations, Equicom Group, [phone] ext 272