SEASON THREE OF CNBC'S "THE PROFIT" PREMIERES TUESDAY, MAY 12 AT 10PM ET/PT

Marcus Lemonis Returns to Help Save Nine Small Businesses; Plus, The Serial Entrepreneur Gives Viewers an Unprecedented Look Inside Companies Previously Featured

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. - March 16, 2015 - CNBC today announced its popular original series, "The Profit," will return for a third season on Tuesday, May 12 at 10pm ET/PT. The 12 one-hour episodes will showcase serial entrepreneur and investor Marcus Lemonis, who puts his own money on the line to help save and grow struggling businesses across the country.

This season, Lemonis will bring his famous "three Ps" principle (People, Process, and Product) to nine small businesses hailing from a variety of industries. From a Staten Island burger joint... to a Missouri cosmetics company... to a Massachusetts drum maker... these companies face very different challenges. But they also have one thing in common: they need Lemonis's help.

Also this season, fans of "The Profit" can look forward to an all-new "The Profit: After the Deal" - an hour-long special, in which Lemonis revisits companies previously featured on the series to see how far they've come since their episodes aired. Viewers will receive updates on his partnerships with Unique Spa & Salon (now known as Erika Cole by Raquel), Artistic Stitch, and Coopersburg Sports, among others. In many cases, the partnerships are thriving; in others, they've unfortunately gone sour. That's the reality of business - and viewers will see it all.

But at some of these companies, so much has happened in such a short period of time that they deserve a whole new episode. And so for the first time in the history of "The Profit," fans will get hour-long updates on two previously featured businesses: Courage. b and My Big Fat Greek Gyro (now known as The Simple Greek). From amazing transformations to dramatic confrontations, viewers will see everything that's happened at these companies since "The Profit" first visited. But most of all, they'll get an unvarnished look at Lemonis's process - and a no-holds-barred exploration of how real business is done.

The new small businesses featured in season three include:

· FuelFood - West Palm Beach, FL

· Grafton Furniture - Miami, FL

· The Lano Company - Kansas City, MO

· M&D Marketing/240sweet - Columbus, IN

· Precise Graphix - Bethlehem, PA

· RAMP Sports - Park City, Utah

· SJC Drums - Southbridge, MA

· Standard Burger - Staten Island, NY

· Tonnie's Minis - New York, NY

Since "The Profit" first premiered, Marcus Lemonis, Chairman and CEO of Camping World and Good Sam Enterprises, has invested more than $20 million of his own money in the companies featured on the series. Lemonis' diverse portfolio includes: 1-800-Car-Cash, Amazing Grapes, AutoMatch USA, Coopersburg Sports, Erika Cole by Raquel, Key West Key Lime Pie Co., Mr. Green Tea, ProFit Protein Bars, Shuler's Bar-B-Que, Sweet Pete's, and Simple Greek.

When Marcus Lemonis isn't running his multi-billion dollar company, Camping World, he goes on the hunt for struggling businesses that are desperate for cash and ripe for a deal. In the past 10 years, he's successfully turned around over 100 companies. Now he's bringing those skills to CNBC and doing something no one has ever done on TV before ... he's putting millions of dollars of his own money on the line.

In each episode, Lemonis makes an offer that's impossible to refuse; his cash for a piece of the business and a percentage of the profits. And once inside these companies, he'll do almost anything to save the business and make himself a profit; even if it means firing the president, promoting the secretary or doing the work himself.

To learn more about "The Profit," visit: cnbcprime.com/theprofit. Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheProfitcnbcprime and follow us on Twitter: @TheProfitCNBC #TheProfit.

"The Profit" is produced for CNBC by Machete Productions with Amber Mazzola serving as executive producer. Jim Ackerman and Luke Bauer are the executive producers for CNBC.

About CNBC:

With CNBC in the U.S., CNBC in Asia Pacific, CNBC in Europe, Middle East and Africa, CNBC World and CNBC HD , CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news and provides real-time financial market coverage and business information to approximately 371 million homes worldwide, including more than 100 million households in the United States and Canada. CNBC also provides daily business updates to 400 million households across China. The network's 15 live hours a day of business programming in North America (weekdays from 4:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide. CNBC at night features a mix of new reality programming, CNBC's highly successful series produced exclusively for CNBC and a number of distinctive in-house documentaries.

CNBC also has a vast portfolio of digital products which deliver real-time financial market news and information across a variety of platforms. These include CNBC.com, the online destination for global business; CNBC PRO, the premium, integrated desktop/mobile service that provides real-time global market data and live access to CNBC global programming; and a suite of CNBC Mobile products including the CNBC Real-Time iPhone and iPad Apps.

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