David Grant, the founder of Affinity Express, believes this new investment will help the company keep up with its rapid growth. It has seen a 40% revenue increase in 2006 and is forecasting an increase “well in excess of 50% for 2007,” Grant told Counselor in an excusive interview this morning. “This deal will allow us to grow more aggressively and with a greater level of perfection. We can now bullet-proof our operations – both our people and our physical assets.” Founded in 1834, Ayala Corporation is based in the Philippines. For the first nine months of 2006, the company reported income of about $196 million (9.6 billion Philippine pesos), which was an 87% increase over the same period in 2005. Also, this was well ahead of the approximate $167 million (8.2 billion Philippine pesos) that the company reported for full year 2005. Ayala and its listed subsidiaries have a combined market capitalization of approximately $14 billion.

James Daleen, president and CEO of Affinity, will remain in the same position, while Fred Ayala will now join the company as Chairman of the Board of Directors. David Grant will remain on as Chairman Emeritus with day-to-day operational responsibilities in sales and business development. The company, which is headquartered in Chicago and has one production facility in India, plans to open a second production center in Manila, Philippines, in the first half of 2007. “The two places of production will be an important element in our growth,” Grant said. “They will help us to serve all of our customers with even greater skills and stronger redundancy.”

Affinity currently employs more than 800 people and services more than 3,000 customers worldwide.