Vehicle Lighting, Inc. Completes Purchase of Guide Corp.

    PENDLETON, Ind.--Feb. 13, 2001--The sale of Guide Corp. to Vehicle Lighting, Inc. (VLI) was completed yesterday, and a new president and chief executive officer was named to head the company.
    Guide, based in Pendleton, Ind., is North America's leading supplier of exterior automotive lighting.
    In closing the sale, VLI acquires controlling interest of Guide's parent company, Lightsource Parent Corp. Terms of the purchase agreement have not been released.
    A tentative agreement to sell the company was announced January 17. The closure of the sale followed a three-week period of due-diligence assessment by VLI.
    VLI is an entity recently established by Mr. B.N. Bahadur, owner of several other automotive suppliers and a consultant to major manufacturers and lending institutions in the auto industry for the past 25 years. Bahadur is one of the founders and principals of BBK, Ltd., of Southfield, Mich., one of the nation's leading turnaround management and consulting firms.
    Bahadur, who is now chairman of Guide, named Dennis E. Hiller, a 25-year automotive industry veteran, as president and CEO of the company.
    "I am very pleased with the closure of this sale and I'm looking forward to working with Guide," Bahadur said. "In the next few months we'll have a chance to develop a strong long-range business plan and begin the implementation."
    Guide's current President and Chief Operating Officer William Smith praised the purchase of Guide as a positive step in ensuring the future of the company. "I have the highest regard for Mr. Bahadur, and I'm confident he and Dennis Hiller bring to Guide the automotive expertise and positive relationships with General Motors and other potential customers that are essential to the company's future."
    Smith, a retired Chrysler executive, said the sale gives him the opportunity to proceed with the plans he had to leave the company once a strong new owner was found.
    "It has been important to me that both the company and the good people who work here are given the best opportunity for success," he said. "I can now depart Guide with the confidence that I leave the company in good hands"
    Hiller said he was anxious to begin his new responsibilities.
    "Guide has both a deep tradition and solid future in the auto industry," Hiller said. "There also are a lot of challenges, and I'm looking forward to working with all of the employees of Guide in attacking those challenges.
    "It is clear to me that Guide has an excellent team," Hiller said. "Guide's strong relationship with the UAW combined with its engineering development and manufacturing expertise gives it the tools needed to succeed. Now, we must focus on execution and meeting our customers' expectations."
    Before joining Bahadur at BBK last October, Hiller worked for Collins & Aikman of Troy, Mich., where he led a number of turnaround situations, reorganizations and acquisitions.
    Collins & Aikman is a supplier of automotive interior systems with facilities throughout North America and Europe. Hiller's most recent assignment was as president of the company's largest unit, its North American Automotive Interior Systems Division.
    Prior to that, he was president of the Carpet and Acoustics Group based in Albemarle, N.C. and C&A Accessory Mats in Akron, Ohio.
    He joined Collins & Aikman in 1976, after graduating from North Carolina State University.
    Guide's manufacturing facilities are located in Anderson, Ind., Monroe, La., and Monterrey, Mexico. The company's corporate offices are located with its Technology and Customer Center in Pendleton, Ind. In addition, Guide operates a Customer Support Center in Madison Heights, Mich.