Castle Harlan Completes $288 Million Sale of AmeriCast Technologies to Bradken

NEW YORK, Aug. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York private
equity investment firm, said today it has completed the sale of AmeriCast
Technologies, Inc., a North American leader in the design and manufacture of
large, complex steel castings, to Bradken, Ltd., a leading publicly-traded
Australian manufacturer of cast steel and other products, primarily for the
mining and railroad industries.
Castle Harlan and Bradken had announced last week that they had agreed on
the transaction, which is valued at approximately $288 million. AmeriCast's
11% notes due 2014 will remain outstanding after completion of the
transaction, in accordance with the terms of the indenture governing the
notes.
Howard Morgan, a senior managing director at Castle Harlan who leads the
firm's AmeriCast team, said, "AmeriCast has been an excellent investment for
Castle Harlan and its limited partners, and we are pleased that we have been
able to add significant value to the company during our 21-month period of
ownership. Annual EBITDA has grown more than 100 percent through both organic
growth and strategic acquisitions. We're confident this growth will
continue."
Based on the value of this transaction, Castle Harlan will realize a
collective gain of more than three times on their original invested capital,
which represents an IRR of more than 90 percent, Morgan said.
AmeriCast is based in Atchison, Kansas, and has manufacturing facilities
there and in St. Joseph, Missouri; Tacoma and Chehalis, Washington; Amite,
Louisiana; and London, Ontario; as well as a trading office in Xuzhou, China.
AmeriCast's customers include major companies in the energy, mining, railroad
and mass transit industries. The majority of the company's products weigh
more than 10,000 pounds, with the largest weighing in excess of 50,000 pounds.
Castle Harlan had purchased a controlling stake in AmeriCast in November
2006. At that time, Bradken joined Castle Harlan in a corporate partnership
to purchase a 19 percent interest in AmeriCast. Bradken had been a portfolio
company of Castle Harlan's Australian affiliate, CHAMP Private Equity, from
2001 until CHAMP fully exited Bradken in 2005 following Bradken's IPO in
August 2004. Bradken is based in Newcastle, New South Wales, about 90 miles
north of Sydney. Bradken currently has revenues of approximately $800 million.
Please refer to its website at www.bradken.com.au.
Anand Philip, a senior associate who led Castle Harlan's negotiating team
on this transaction, adds, "We are confident that, under Bradken's leadership,
the company will continue to prosper. Post closing, we intend to support
Bradken in its effort to grow AmeriCast and its business in North America."
He added that during Castle Harlan's ownership, "We more than doubled growth
and productivity-related capital expenditures that should continue to benefit
AmeriCast in coming years."
After acquiring AmeriCast in November 2006, Castle Harlan assisted the
company in purchasing Atlas Castings and Technology in April 2007 and A.G.
Anderson in April of this year. Atlas makes large specialty steel castings
for the energy and defense industries; A.G. Anderson produces castings in
stainless steel and complex ferrous alloys, primarily for the energy industry.
In January 2008, Castle Harlan assisted the company in divesting its Prospect
division, which had been identified as non-core to the AmeriCast business.
Taking account of those acquisitions and the divestiture, AmeriCast is
expected to have total revenues and EBITDA this year of more than $340 million
and $47 million, respectively. When Castle Harlan purchased the company in
November 2006, its revenues were below $200 million.
Demonstrating the successful lasting relationship among the parties and
their community involvement, Castle Harlan and AmeriCast have agreed to
contribute $600,000 to endow the Castle Harlan-AmeriCast Scholarship Fund,
which will be dedicated to providing need and merit-based educational
scholarships to the children of AmeriCast's approximately 2,000 employees.
Castle Harlan, founded in 1987, invests in controlling interests in the
buyout and development of middle-market companies in North America, Europe
and, together with CHAMP Private Equity, in Australasia. Since its inception,
Castle Harlan has invested in 49 companies representing more than $9 billion
in enterprise value. Please refer to its website at www.castleharlan.com.
Castle Harlan's current portfolio companies, which employ more than 42,000
people, include Baker & Taylor, the leading global distributor of books and
entertainment products to libraries and retailers; United Malt Holdings, one
of the world's largest producers of malt for use in the brewing and distilling
industries; and Anchor Drilling Fluids USA, Inc., the nation's largest
independent provider of drilling fluids and fluid-handling services for
onshore oil and gas drilling.
CHAMP Private Equity was formed in 2000 as Castle Harlan Australian
Mezzanine Partners by the founders of CHAMP Private Equity's predecessor and
Castle Harlan. CHAMP Private Equity and its predecessor have made more than 60
investments since 1987 in companies operating in Australia and New Zealand.
CHAMP Private Equity currently maintains offices in Sydney, Australia and
Singapore. Current CHAMP portfolio companies include: International Energy
Services, Manassen Foods, Healthcare Australia, Study Group International,
United Malt Holdings and Blue Star Print Group Limited. Please refer to its
website at www.champmbo.com.
The combined worldwide funds under the management of Castle Harlan and
CHAMP Private Equity exceed $4.5 billion.
If you have any questions about the AmeriCast transaction, please contact
Chuck Storer at (212) 371-2200, or Howard Morgan or Anand Philip at
(212) 644-8600.
SOURCE Castle Harlan, Inc.

Charles Storer, +1-212-371-2200 of Robert Marston Corporate Communications,
Inc. for Castle Harlan, Inc.