NEW YORK, February 2, 2004 - Castle Harlan Inc., the New York private-equity investment firm, reported today it had received two awards for its role in the acquisition of Austar United Communications, Inc., the leading provider of satellite pay television in non-urban Eastern Australia.
Mergers & Acquisitions Advisor, an industry newsletter, honored the transaction as the 2003 Middle Market International Cross-Border Deal of the Year and as the 2003 Middle Market Media and Telecommunications Deal of the Year. The awards were presented to Howard Morgan, a Castle Harlan managing director, at a black-tie dinner in December by Maria Bartiromo, the prominent CNBC television personality.
In a series of transactions first announced last April, Castle Harlan Partners IV, a US$1.163 billion private-equity investment fund raised by Castle Harlan, Inc., co-invested in Austar with CHAMP 1 Funds, a A$500 million private-equity investment fund raised by Castle Harlan and its Sydney-based affiliate, Castle Harlan Australian Mezzanine Partners (CHAMP). The acquisition price was approximately A$0.16 per share; the stock closed on the Australian Stock Exchange today at A$.075..
Austar has exclusive pay television rights in all but the major Australian cities and sparsely settled Western Australia. The company has more than 427,000 subscribers and today reported revenues of A$323.9 million and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of A$56.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2003. Compared to 2002, EBITDA increased A$33.9 million, or 149 percent.
Founded in 1987, Castle Harlan invests primarily in private-equity buyouts of middle-market companies in North America and Europe. Castle Harlan's team of 10 managing directors, including its founders, has completed more than 60 acquisitions with a total value in excess of $7 billion. The firm's roots date back to the start of the institutionalized private-equity business in the late 1960's.
Castle Harlan also invests in Australia, New Zealand and the broader Australasian region through its Sydney-based affiliate, CHAMP, which is one of Australia's oldest and largest private equity firms.
Among the companies in Castle Harlan's portfolio are Associated Packaging Technologies, the country's leading manufacturer of CPET containers for the frozen food industry; Morton's Restaurant Group, owner of the Morton's of Chicago steakhouses; and Advanced Accessory Systems, the largest manufacturer of automotive roof racks and tow systems in North America and Europe.