NEW YORK, July 7, 2004 - Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York private-equity investment firm, announced today it has completed the acquisition of Ames True Temper, a leading manufacturer and global marketer of lawn and garden tools and accessories. The transaction was valued at $380 million.
In business since 1774, the company is a North American market leader in certain lawn and garden products, such as long-handled tools, including rakes and shovels, as well as wheelbarrows, snow tools, striking tools and pots and planters. It is based in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.
The company's customers include such major retailers as Home Depot, Lowe's and Wal-Mart, as well as major hardware chains and similar stores throughout North America.
Justin Wender, the managing director at Castle Harlan who led the transaction, said the current management, including Chief Executive Officer Richard Dell, would remain in place and would continue to hold an equity stake in the company.
Castle Harlan is buying Ames True Temper from Wind Point Partners, a private-equity firm based in Chicago that had acquired the company in early 2002.
The equity capital for the acquisition was provided by Castle Harlan Partners IV, L.P., a $1.163 billion investment fund that closed last August.
Founded in 1987, Castle Harlan is a leading New York private-equity investment firm, investing primarily in controlling interests in the buyout and development of middle-market companies in North America and Europe. Castle Harlan's team of nine managing directors, including its founders, has completed more than 60 acquisitions with a total value in excess of $7 billion. The firm traces its roots to the start of the institutionalized private-equity business in the late 1960s.
Castle Harlan also invests in Australia, New Zealand and the Australasian region through its Sydney-based affiliate, CHAMP, which is one of Australia's oldest and largest private equity firms.
Castle Harlan's portfolio companies, which employ more than 26,000 people, include AdobeAir, Inc., a leading manufacturer of evaporative coolers; Associated Packaging Technologies, the country's leading manufacturer of CPET containers for the frozen food industry; and Advanced Accessory Systems, the largest manufacturer of automotive roof racks and tow systems in North America and Europe.