Alliance Laundry To Be Acquired by Ontario Teachers’
December 8, 2004
RIPON, Wis., Dec 8, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Alliance Laundry Holdings LLC, parent company of Alliance Laundry Systems LLC, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement for the sale of the company to an entity established by Teachers’ Private Capital, the private equity arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, for approximately US$450 million. Alliance Laundry Holdings is being sold by private investment firms Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. and Bain Capital, as well as minority shareholders in the company.
The management team will continue to hold a significant investment in Alliance Laundry Holdings following the close of the transaction. Alliance Laundry Systems is North America’s leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of commercial laundry equipment with well-known brand names such as Speed Queen®, UniMac®, Huebsch(R) and Ajax®. Completion of the transaction, which is expected to close in January 2005, is subject to financing and customary closing conditions. Lehman Brothers Inc. acted as financial advisor to the current shareholders.
About Alliance Laundry Holdings LLC
Alliance Laundry Holdings LLC is the parent company of Alliance Laundry Systems LLC, a leading North American manufacturer of commercial laundry products and provider of services for laundromats, multi-housing laundries, on-premise laundries and drycleaners. Alliance holds the number one market share position in North America in each of its three end-customer groups. Alliance offers a full line of washers and dryers for light commercial use as well as large frontloading washers, heavy duty tumbler dryers, and presses and finishing equipment for heavy commercial use. The company’s products are sold under the well-known brand names Speed Queen®, UniMac®, Huebsch® and Ajax®. Alliance reaches laundromat and on-premise laundry end-customers through a network of over 200 North American distributors and over 100 international distributors, serving over 90 countries. Alliance also serves multi-housing end-customers through a network of over 80 route operators.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained herein that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used herein, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Alliance Holdings or Alliance Laundry to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements which explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties readers are urged to consider statements labeled with the terms “believes,” “belief,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates” or “plans” to be uncertain and forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in Alliance Holdings’ and Alliance Laundry’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.
BRS is a New York based private equity investment firm with approximately $1.2 billion under management. BRS was founded in 1995 and has since invested in over 20 companies in the following industries: restaurants, consumer goods, specialty retail, recreation/leisure, apparel, home furnishings, industrial and commercial services (including equipment rental), commercial equipment manufacturing, wholesale distribution and healthcare services. BRS makes leveraged buyout, recapitalization/restructuring and growth capital investments in companies with superior management, predictable cash flow, strong market share and growth potential. All management teams of BRS companies are equity investors in their businesses.
CONTACT:
Paul Kaminski – Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co., 212-521-3700
E-MAIL: kaminski@brs.com
WEBSITE: www.brs.com