KPS Capital Partners Portfolio Company International Equipment Solutions, LLC Acquires CWS Industries (Mfg) Corp.

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Jul 25, 2012, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- KPS Capital Partners, LP ("KPS") today announced that its portfolio company International Equipment Solutions, LLC ("IES") has acquired, through an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary, CWS Industries (Mfg) Corp. ("CWS" or the "Company"). This is the fourth acquisition by IES since its formation. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

KPS formed IES in September 2011 as a platform for investments serving the construction, agriculture, landscaping, infrastructure, recycling, demolition, mining, and energy industries. At that time, KPS announced IES's first two acquisitions, Paladin Brands Holding, Inc. and Crenlo LLC from Dover Corporation. In November 2011, Stephen Andrews was retained as Chief Executive Officer of IES to lead the integration of the first two acquisitions and to aggressively grow and globalize the company. As part of its globalization strategy, IES acquired Siac do Brasil, Ltda. ("Siac do Brasil"), a manufacturer of cab enclosures in Brazil, in June 2012.

CWS is a leading manufacturer of highly-engineered attachment products, including tire manipulators, cable reelers, grapples, buckets and various large excavator attachment products. Its customers include a global network of dealers and end-users in the mining, oil & gas, forestry and construction markets. CWS is focused on understanding each of its customers' unique applications and geological conditions and as a result, its attachments and fully integrated equipment systems are tailored to the specific needs of its customers and are able to withstand some of the world's harshest environments. The Company employs 140 people at two facilities, located in Surrey, British Columbia and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Raquel Palmer, a Partner at KPS, said, "We are very proud of the progress IES has made to date. In only a brief ten months, KPS has created a truly global manufacturing company as a result of four highly synergistic acquisitions. The Company has dramatically improved its profitability under our ownership and exceeded all of our expectations for growth. IES continues to capitalize on opportunities to grow its business internationally, and we believe that with each acquisition and subsequent integration, IES increases the value proposition offered to its customers."

Stephen Andrews, Chief Executive Officer of IES, said, "The acquisition of CWS is another important step towards the globalization and diversification of IES. We are very impressed with CWS's rapid growth trajectory, customer base, engineering capabilities and broad portfolio of highly engineered attachment products. This acquisition not only strategically enhances our footprint with dealers in Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest, but also opens up IES to a growing base of sales relationships located internationally in South America, Russia and Asia. Additionally, the acquisition enhances IES' product portfolio to include a suite of attachments with applications in the high-growth mining, oil & gas and forestry end-markets, which are currently underserved by IES. As demonstrated with both this acquisition and the acquisition of Siac do Brasil, IES remains committed to supporting our customer's global expansion initiatives with localized supply, technical resources, and parts and service support. IES intends to invest significant additional capital and resources into CWS to ensure the highest level of production quality and capacity for our customers. IES has made tremendous progress in our first ten months and I am very confident our future is bright."

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP and Goodmans LLP served as legal counsel to KPS and IES and its affiliates. Financing for the transaction was provided by a syndicate of institutional investors agented by Regiment Capital Advisors, LP and PNC Bank, National Association.

About International Equipment Solutions, LLC

IES is a global engineered equipment platform serving the construction, agriculture, landscaping, infrastructure, recycling, demolition, mining, and energy markets. IES operates through six operating units, including Paladin, Genesis, Pengo, Jewell and CWS, all of whom are leading manufacturers of engineered attachment tools for operator driven equipment, Crenlo, a leading North American manufacturer of cab enclosures for operator-driven equipment as well as specialty electronic enclosures, and Siac do Brasil, the leading supplier of heavy equipment cab enclosures and locomotive sub-assemblies in the South American market. IES' customers include major OEMs, national rental fleet companies and hundreds of independent and OEM-aligned dealers. IES employs over 2,800 people and operates 17 manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, Germany, and Brazil.

About CWS Industries (Mfg) Corp.

Headquartered in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, CWS is a leading manufacturer of top quality attachments, cabs and conversions for heavy equipment used by various high-growth end markets such as mining, oil and gas, forestry, agriculture and construction. CWS offers both standard and highly-engineered attachments for excavators, loaders, crawlers and other heavy equipment. With a keen understanding of its customers' applications and geological conditions, CWS provides attachments and fully integrated equipment systems that are able to withstand some of the world's harshest environments and are tailored to the specific needs of its customers. CWS is managed by an experienced team, which has transformed the Company from a supplier of basic attachments into a manufacturer of highly-engineered products with superior quality for a variety of specialized applications.

About KPS Capital Partners, LP

KPS Capital Partners, LP is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of private equity funds with over $2.8 billion of assets under management focused on constructive investing in corporate carve-outs, restructurings and other special situations. KPS has executed highly complex corporate carve-out transactions on a global basis, and has acquired businesses from numerous Global Fortune 500 companies. The KPS investment strategy targets manufacturing and industrial companies with strong market positions that are going through a period of transition or experiencing operating or financial difficulties. For nearly two decades, the partners of KPS have worked with the management teams and associates of its portfolio companies to improve operating and financial performance by focusing on cost reduction, efficiency, operational excellence and strategic growth initiatives. KPS Portfolio Companies have aggregate annual revenues of $7.8 billion, operate 99 manufacturing plants in 24 countries, and employ over 33,000 associates, directly and through joint ventures worldwide. The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at the firm's website: www.kpsfund.com.

SOURCE KPS Capital Partners, LP