Einstein/Noah Bagel Corp. Obtains Court Approval of Sale of Assets <b></b>

Golden, Colorado--Einstein/Noah Bagel Corp. announced ithas obtained bankruptcy court approval of the sale of substantiallyall the assets of the company and its majority-owned subsidiary,Einstein/Noah Bagel Partners LP, to Einstein Acquisition Corp. andGreenlight New World LLC, affiliates of Eatontown, New Jersey-basedNew World Coffee-Manhattan Bagel Inc. The purchase price consistedof $160 million in cash and the assumption of up to $30 million inliabilities.

The transaction is scheduled to close on or before June 20,2001.

"We were pleased that the bidding process resulted in adeal that offers additional value to our stakeholders," saysRobert M. Hartnett, CEO of Einstein/Noah Bagel Corp. "We arealso pleased that our operating business will be able to emergefrom bankruptcy significantly healthier than when it entered, withsame store sales up 3.7 percent in the first quarter of 2001 overthe comparable quarter in 2000."

The combined entity will have approximately 800 company-owned,licensed and franchised stores. New World had indicated that itintends to retain Einstein/Noah Bagel's management team andkeep its support center in Golden, Colorado.

The New World affiliates were the successful bidder in anauction that was conducted on June 1 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Courtin Phoenix. -PR Newswire