San Diego, CA - November 26, 2007

By Elizabeth Malloy, The San Diego Daily Transcript

A La Jolla-based management consulting and capital advisory firm launched a new consulting service Monday designed to help sports teams decide which athletes to are the best fit for their organization.

Bainbridge announced the launch of the Professional Athlete Due Diligence group, designed to leverage the company's proprietary primary-source research methodology and history of successful investment due diligence. The service is designed to provide teams with the information necessary to make the most informed and prudent player investments.

Building on the traditional process scouts use for evaluating a player's character, Bainbridge employs a consultative approach by conducting primary-source personal interviews with potential draft picks. Beyond computer-based background checks and other sources of secondary information, Bainbridge's research analysts conduct primary-source interviews with athletes' former coaches, teachers, teammates, and personal acquaintances. Bainbridge's full reference interviews offer a third-party, unbiased perspective for assessing if a player's values are consistent with those needed to effectively compete and win.

"In the age of multi-year contracts, large signing bonuses and the increasing importance of character, unbiased due diligence provides a team with more detailed background information prior to drafting a player into its organization," said Bainbridge's Managing Director, Dr. Kenneth Wagner. "To make more prudent and sound business decisions, teams must go beyond basic background research."

The founding of the Professional Athlete Due Diligence service is rooted in professional sports teams' persistent need for research and analysis to support its draft selections and long-term contract negotiations, according to a company statement. Since 1975, Bainbridge has provided the Fortune 1000 with similar market research and due diligence services to support brand strategy, market entry, and the most critical investment decisions including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.

Bainbridge is offering its due diligence services on an exclusive basis to a variety of organizations including the National Football League, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer.

URL for this article: http://www.sddt.com/Search/article.cfm?SourceCode=20071126cza