New York, NY (October 3, 2006) -- KPS Special Situations Funds ("KPS") announced today that its portfolio company, Hephaestus Holdings, Inc. ("HHI"), has sold a minority equity interest to Mitsubishi Corporation ("Mitsubishi"). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
HHI, through its Jernberg Holdings, Inc. ("Jernberg") and Impact Forge Group, Inc. ("Impact Forge") subsidiaries, is the largest independent manufacturer of forged parts for the North American automotive industry. Jernberg (www.jernberg.com), through its subsidiaries, manufacturers highly engineered symmetrical forged parts for various power-train and wheel-end applications. Impact Forge (www.impactforge.com) manufactures highly engineered symmetrical and asymmetrical forged parts for transmission, power-train and wheel-end applications. HHI employs more than 1,200 people and operates eight manufacturing facilities located in the Chicago, Illinois, Indianapolis, Indiana and Coldwater, Michigan vicinities.
Michael Psaros, Managing Principal of KPS, said, "Mitsubishi is a Limited Partner of the KPS Funds and a key strategic relationship. This is the second transaction involving a KPS portfolio company and Mitsubishi, and its affiliated entities, in the past year. We expect Mitsubishi to add a great deal of value to HHI."
George Thanopoulos, Chief Executive Officer of HHI, said, "HHI is pleased to welcome Mitsubishi as a strategic investor. While we are committed to our existing domestic customer base and value the longstanding relationships we have enjoyed with our core customers, HHI continues to seek opportunities to diversify its customer base. We expect this relationship with Mitsubishi to contribute to the acceleration of our rapidly expanding business with the New Domestic automotive manufacturers in North America, and to the sourcing of our primary raw materials on a global basis."
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 $21.4 billion of assets under management (as of December 31, 2023). 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 $20.3 billion, operate 222 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries, and have approximately 48,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide (as of December 31, 2023). The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.
