New York, July 27, 2006 - Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York-based private equity firm, announced today that a company controlled by its Australian affiliate CHAMP Private Equity has acquired two specialty transport companies, one a U.S. enterprise, in transactions with a total value of more than A$75 million.
The acquisitions were made by International Energy Services (IES), one of Australia's leading transporters of petroleum products and other dangerous materials, which CHAMP acquired in January 2005. IES has purchased:
- Beta Fluid Systems, Inc., based in Reidsville, North Carolina. It is the largest supplier of aviation refueling equipment to the U.S. military in the United States and overseas, and a leading supplier to the U.S. commercial aviation industry. The addition of the company makes IES one of the world's largest suppliers of aircraft refueling equipment. Beta, founded in 1972, was privately owned.
-Ross J. Kiernan Tipping Transport Pty Ltd., a leading specialty transport company for the mining sector, servicing major mining operations in the Mt. Isa region of North Queensland, Australia. Kiernan was also privately owned.
Howard Morgan, a Castle Harlan senior managing director who works closely with CHAMP, said the acquisitions will bring IES's annual revenues to more than A$300 million, a 65 percent increase since CHAMP acquired the company early last year.
Vin Stenta, managing director of IES, said the purchase of Beta gives IES its first presence in the United States and "will insure that we can competitively supply aviation refueling equipment and effectively service our customers in all parts of the globe, including North America."
CHAMP, based in Sydney, represents the largest independent private equity funds in Australasia. It was formed in 2000 by Australian Mezzanine Investments Ltd. and Castle Harlan.
The CHAMP I and CHAMP II Funds have approximately A$1.5 billion of equity capital. The CHAMP I Funds have completed seven management buyouts with a combined transaction value in excess of A$1.2 billion. They included Austar Communications, Australia's second largest subscription TV operator, providing satellite-delivered services to more than 500,000 subscribers in regional and rural Australia; Bradken Limited, a leading Australian manufacturer of steel consumables and capital equipment for the mining and railroad industries, and Penrice Limited, the only manufacturer of sodium carbonate (soda ash) and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) in Southeast Asia, supplying more than 85 percent of the soda ash and more than 90 percent of the baking soda used by Australian industry. CHAMP is currently investing equity from the CHAMP II funds.
Castle Harlan, founded in 1987, invests in controlling interests in the buyout and development of middle-market companies in North America, Europe and Australasia. Its team of 17 investment professionals in New York has completed 45 acquisitions since its inception with a total value in excess of US$8.7 billion.