It has been announced here by the Home Depot(R), the world's chief home improvement retailer, of the approval of strategic measures by its board of directors for the augmentation of shareholder value. It was also announced by the Company, that the adoption of the measures consist of the inward bound into an agreement for the selling of the HD Supply along with the fruitful carrying out of a definite recapitalization plan.

The Home Depot® is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer having 2,164 retail stores in all 50 states like in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and China. The Home Depot, through its HD SupplySM businesses, is also one of the largest diversified wholesale distributors in the United States scattered over 1,000 locations in the United States and Canada. The prime business of the company includes offering products and services for building, improving and maintaining homes, businesses and municipal infrastructures.

It has been found in this regard, that earlier in this year, in the month of February the Home Depot had already initiated a strategic review of the HD Supply along with the Company's wholesale distribution division with the sole concentration of escalating the focal point on the retail business, which happens to be the central point of the business. It has come out in this manner that with the threadbare analysis of other alternatives, there had been an undisputed decision on the part of the parent Company over the sheer endorsement of the sale of HD Supply to the private equity firms like the Bain Capital Partners, The Carlyle Group and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice at a price, amounting to $10.3 billion. There is also a high anticipation that the sale of the HD supply shall be close by the third fiscal quarter of the ongoing year, 2007, which is subject to definite regulatory requirements and eventualities.

While speaking to this correspondent the honorable Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer Frank Blake remarked, "HD Supply is a leader in its industry. We are proud of the business we built and know that it will continue to grow and flourish under new ownership. I'd like to thank Joe DeAngelo and the entire HD Supply leadership team for their contributions to The Home Depot."

"Today's decision reflects our continued commitment to enhancing shareholder value, through an exclusive focus on our retail business and the return of cash to our shareholders. This year alone we will spend over $2 billion in support of our top five retail priorities. We are confident in the ability to improve productivity in our retail business through investment in these priorities, which will further enhance returns on invested capital as the investments take hold," he concluded.