New York, NY (April 20, 2005) -- Today, KPS Special Situations Funds (“KPS”) announced it has entered into an exclusive relationship with Mr. George Thanopoulos. Mr. Thanopoulos will advise KPS in its pursuit of potential investments in the automotive supply industry.
Mr. Thanopoulos formerly held a variety of senior executive positions at Metaldyne Corporation. He was most recently President of Metaldyne’s Engine Group, a business unit operating eighteen manufacturing plants in nine countries with 3,000 employees. Mr. Thanopoulos graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
“We are privileged to form a partnership with George Thanopoulos. He is an accomplished businessman and a proven manufacturing executive. His broad range of experience, primarily focused on creating value for customers and stockholders through manufacturing excellence, is a perfect complement to our investment strategy,” said Michael Psaros, a Managing Principal of KPS. “We are currently analyzing a significant number of opportunities in the automotive supply industry and look forward to creating value for our Limited Partners by acquiring one or more platform companies through our partnership with George.”
About KPS Capital Partners
KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with approximately $21.8 billion of assets under management (as of June 30, 2024). For over three decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds’ portfolio companies generate aggregate annual revenues of approximately $21.6 billion, operate 245 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries, and have approximately 64,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide (as of June 30, 2024, pro forma for the recent acquisitions of Sport Group and Innomotics which closed on July 8, 2024 and October 1, 2024, respectively). The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.