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JPE Inc. to Sell Industrial & Automotive Fasteners Inc.

17 February 1999

JPE Inc. Executes Letter of Intent to Sell Industrial & Automotive Fasteners Inc.

    ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(AutomotiveWire)--Feb. 17, 1999--JPE Inc. (OTC BB:JPEI) announced today that it has reached an agreement in principle with MacLean-Fogg Company of Mundelein, Ill., to sell substantially all of the assets and business of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Industrial & Automotive Fasteners Inc. (IAF), for a cash purchase price plus the assumption of certain liabilities. All proceeds from this sale will be used to pay down bank debt. IAF manufactures wheel nuts for General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota and Honda. MacLean-Fogg is a manufacturer of fasteners and other products including wheel nuts.
    Dick Chrysler, JPE's president, said, "This is a strategic move in the Company's on-going efforts to restructure its indebtedness and streamline its product offerings." Both companies are working toward a definitive agreement and hope to close the transaction as expeditiously as possible. The sale is subject to customary conditions, including execution of a definitive agreement, satisfactory conclusion of MacLean-Fogg's due diligence investigation into the business and affairs of IAF, and the settlement of certain outstanding trade payables to the satisfaction of MacLean-Fogg. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that this transaction will be successfully completed.
    The statements made above with respect to negotiations with MacLean-Fogg are "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and various other factors discussed in the Company's annual and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.