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Step2 Acquires Thinkativity

STREETSBORO, OHIO - February 15, 2008 - The Step2 Company, LLC ("Step2") announced today that it is acquiring privately owned Thinkativity, Inc. ("Thinkativity"), headquartered in Englewood, New Jersey. Known for providing durable, imaginative and active fun, Step2 is a market leader in outdoor toys, playhouses, play kitchens, sand and water play, ride on toys, swing sets, wagons and kid's furniture. Thinkativity is an award-winning maker of early learning, electronic and other educational toys that teach children to create their own learning experiences. From infants to preschoolers, Thinkativity is at the cutting edge of developing innovative play patterns and products that inspire children to explore, play and learn.

Thinkativity toys, like the popular Little Storyteller® line of products, blend physical play with imaginative learning so that preschoolers independently control their early learning lessons. Many Thinkativity toys, like the Baby Grand Piano, Cookie the ABC Crocodile, and Sunny Sunshine are frequent award winners and have nationwide presence in mass market, specialty and online retailers.

Scott Levin, Step2 President and CEO, said, "Step2 is excited to partner with the creative team at Thinkativity to further broaden our offering of award-winning toys for families. With this addition to our Step2 family of companies, we now provide a wider array of well-made, innovative toys for people who care about the experiences their children have when they play."

Thinkativity will remain a key brand name for learning toys and its operations will be integrated to create a natural extension of complementary lines to the preschool category. In addition, cross merchandising and marketing opportunities for the expanded product lines will create earlier exposure in a child's life cycle for the Step2® brand than was previously possible. All of the Step2 Company brands build off the belief of developmental play as a cornerstone for early childhood education and growth. The Infantino toy company was recently acquired by Step2's parent company to further its commitment to providing quality products for infants and young children.