Wind Point Partners Acquires Knape & Vogt Manufacturing Company
July 28 2006 - 3:45PM
PR Newswire (US)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wind Point
Partners, a private equity investment firm with offices in Chicago
and Southfield, Michigan, today announced that it has completed the
acquisition of Knape & Vogt Manufacturing Company
(NASDAQ:KNAP), a manufacturer and distributor of drawer slides,
shelving, storage and ergonomic office products. Knape & Vogt
(KV) shareholders approved the sale on June 26, 2006 for $106
million in cash and assumed debt. Investment banking firm W.Y.
Campbell & Company advised KV on the transaction. As a result
of the acquisition, KV's stock will cease to trade on the NASDAQ
market at the close of trading on July 28, 2006 and will be
delisted. KV has appointed Computershare as paying agent, who will
be charged with mailing a letter of transmittal and instructions to
all KV stockholders of record. The letter of transmittal will be
sent out in the next few weeks directing stockholders on how to
surrender the KV stock they hold in exchange for payment. "This was
clearly the right opportunity for Knape & Vogt to maximize
shareholder value while preserving our heritage as a leading
manufacturer and product marketer," said Bill Dutmers, former
Chairman and CEO of Knape & Vogt and now a consultant to the
company. "The KV team will continue to focus on serving our
customers and driving the business, and we look forward to the
added support and resources of the Wind Point team." Wind Point
acquired Knape & Vogt in partnership with Peter Martin, who is
assuming the role of CEO, and Bill Denton, who is assuming the role
of chairman of KV. Martin was most recently president and CEO of
The Holmes Group, an $800 million manufacturer and marketer of
small appliances. Prior to The Holmes Group, Martin served as
president of the $1.2 billion Global Window Fashions group of
Newell Rubbermaid. Bill Denton has over 35 years of experience in
the consumer hard goods industry, most recently as president and
CEO of Fiskars, a $600 million publicly traded manufacturer and
marketer of branded consumer products. Prior to Fiskars, Denton
served as president of the $2.0 billion Housewares group of Newell
Rubbermaid, where he completed over 10 acquisitions and increased
revenues from $0.9 billion to $2.0 billion. "The Knape & Vogt
brand name has been synonymous with quality, reliability and
durability since its inception, leading to strong, long-term
relationships with customers and end-users," commented Peter
Martin, CEO. "We look forward to working with the incumbent
management team and see great opportunity to expand KV by growing
both organically and through strategic acquisitions." Knape &
Vogt employs about 600 people at its headquarters and main
manufacturing facilities in Grand Rapids and a smaller
manufacturing operation in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and showroom
and sales offices in Chicago and Mississauga, Ontario. About Knape
& Vogt Knape & Vogt Manufacturing Co. brings more than a
century of experience to the design, manufacture and distribution
of kitchen and bath storage solutions and office products for
original equipment manufacturers, specialty distributors, office
furniture dealers, hardware chains and major home centers
throughout the country. Additional information on KV's product
lines is available on http://www.knapeandvogt.com/ . About Wind
Point Partners Wind Point Partners is a private equity investment
firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Southfield, Michigan
that manages more than $2 billion in capital. Wind Point focuses on
partnering with top caliber management teams to acquire solid
middle market businesses. Additional information about Wind Point
is available at http://www.windpointpartners.com/ . SAFE HARBOR
UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION ACT OF 1995 Certain
statements contained in this news release that are not historical
facts constitute forward-looking statements, within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are
intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by that Act.
Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as
"estimates," "anticipates," "projects," "plans," "expects,"
"believes," "should," and similar expressions, and by the context
in which they are used. Such statements are based only upon current
expectations of Knape & Vogt. Reliance should not be placed on
forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual
results, performance or achievements to differ materially from
those expressed or implied. Knape & Vogt undertakes no
obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect
events or circumstances after the date on which they are made.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
press release. DATASOURCE: Knape & Vogt Manufacturing Company
CONTACT: Leslie Cummings, Vice President of Finance and Treasurer
of Knape & Vogt Manufacturing Company, +1-616-459-3311, Ext.
225; Jeff Lambert or Ryan McGrath of Lambert, Edwards &
Associates, +1-616-233-0500, for Knape & Vogt Manufacturing
Company Web site: http://www.knapeandvogt.com/
http://www.windpointpartners.com/
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