Announces Formation of Ashcroft Holdings, Inc.
New York, NY (September 6, 2005) -- KPS Special Situations Fund II (“KPS”) announced today that it has signed an agreement to buy substantially all of the assets of the Dresser Instruments Division of Dresser, Inc. KPS will acquire the assets through a newly formed company, Ashcroft Holdings, Inc.
KPS and Dresser expect the transaction to close early in the fourth quarter of 2005. The closing of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions, including the receipt of required consents.
About Dresser’s Instruments Division
Dresser’s Instruments division (www.dresserinstruments.com) manufactures a variety of pressure gauges, transducers, transmitters, pressure and temperature switches and other devices used in a wide variety of applications and industries. Its products include the Ashcroft®, Ebro®, Heise®, Weksler® and Willy™ brands. Dresser’s Instruments business employs approximately 1,060 worldwide, including 450 in Stratford, Conn., where it has its worldwide headquarters and a manufacturing facility. It also has operations in Brazil, Germany, Canada, Mexico and Singapore and joint ventures in Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
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.
