More than Doubles Invested Equity Capital in the Only Four Months; Retains Ebro Electronics Business
New York, NY (April 3, 2006) - KPS Special Situations Funds (“KPS”) announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its portfolio company, Ashcroft Holdings, Inc. (“Ashcroft”), to Nagano Keiki Co., Ltd. (“Nagano”) for $55 million plus retained cash. KPS will retain ownership of Ashcroft’s Ebro Electronics GmbH business unit headquartered in Germany.
Through this transaction, KPS will return more than double its invested equity capital to its Limited Partners after only four months of ownership and, in addition, retain the value of the Ebro business unit. The transaction represents the second sale of a portfolio company by KPS to a Japanese strategic buyer in the last six months.
KPS created Ashcroft to acquire substantially all of the worldwide assets of the Dresser Instruments business from Dresser, Inc. for $34 million on November 30, 2005.
"By creating a stand-alone Ashcroft and immediately implementing our turnaround plan, KPS doubled the company’s ‘run rate’ cash flow in less than sixty days," said Michael Psaros, a Managing Principal of KPS. "The acquisition by Nagano provides our Limited Partners with a significant capital gain in only four months, validates the immediate value added by KPS through its investment and turnaround strategy, and creates a global platform for Nagano. We look forward to continuing to build the value of the Ebro business.”
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2006.
About Nagano Keiki Co., Ltd.
Nagano Keiki Co., Ltd. is a leading manufacturer of measuring instruments, such as pressure gauges, transmitters, and temperature gauges primarily used in automobiles. The company also makes equipment for the semiconductor industry, such as pressure regulators, transducers, digital pressure gauges, and power supplies. Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
About Ashcroft Holdings, Inc.
Ashcroft Holdings, Inc. (www.ashcroft.com) manufactures a variety of pressure gauges, transducers, transmitters, pressure and temperature switches, and other devices used in a wide variety of applications and industries. Its products include the Ashcroft®, Ebro®, Heise®, Weksler® and Willy™ brands. Ashcroft has approximately 1,060 employees worldwide, including 450 in Stratford, Connecticut, where its worldwide headquarters and a manufacturing facility are located. It also has operations in Brazil, Germany, Canada, Mexico, and Singapore along with joint ventures in Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
About KPS Capital Partners
KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with approximately $21.4 billion of assets under management (as of September 30, 2024). For over three decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds’ portfolio companies currently generate aggregate annual revenues of approximately $23.7 billion, operate 251 manufacturing facilities in 30 countries, and have approximately 65,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide (as of September 30, 2024, pro forma for recent acquisitions). The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.