Eigen Capital Announces the Acquisition of Plews

PALO ALTO, Calif. & DIXON, IL--April 23, 2011: Private equity firm Eigen Capital is pleased to announce the acquisition of Dixon, IL based Plews, Inc., formerly a fully-owned subsidiary of British industrial conglomerate Tomkins Ltd.

“There is a lot of history here and the strength of the new ownership group will allow us to continue to maintain the highest product standards and service levels. We look forward to growing our product portfolio and our partnership with our customers.”

Plews, Inc. is a leader in the distribution of automotive and industrial replacement parts and accessories to the North American automotive, industrial and retail markets. The business, founded over 100 years ago, has a long-established history as a nation-wide seller to all major automotive part retailers, hardware and home improvement stores, as well as distributors. Plews products include power steering hose assemblies, precision-engineered brass fittings, air accessories, air hoses, tire repair hardware, gauges, lubrication equipment, and a range of lubrication greases, oils and sprays; products are sold under recognized brands such as Amflo, Camel, Tru-Flate, Syracuse, Edelmann, Lubrimatic and UltraLube.

"We're thrilled with the customer relationships that the company brings, most of which go back decades," said Eigen Capital's Partner Christophe Mallard. "We see tremendous opportunities and look forward to working with this high-caliber management team and the employees towards taking the company to ever greater achievements."

"This is an exciting new chapter that is being written for Plews," said Steve Venghaus, President of Plews, Inc. "There is a lot of history here and the strength of the new ownership group will allow us to continue to maintain the highest product standards and service levels. We look forward to growing our product portfolio and our partnership with our customers."

Bill Waelke, a Director of Corporate Development Group at Tomkins Ltd. praised the execution of the transaction led by Eigen Capital: "Eigen Capital executed this transaction with a very high-caliber team. It was a pleasure working with them, and we wish them and Plews a successful future."

Financial partners in the transaction include senior secured debt financing from Medley Capital and ABL and real estate financing from Union Bank N.A. Brian Duffy, also a Partner at Eigen Capital, said, "This acquisition is a blueprint transaction for us, engineering a complex carve-out as well as delivering value to the seller within the agreed timeframe. We want to thank our partners Medley Capital and Union Bank for helping us bring it to the finish line."