AMPORTS SOLD TO AIG HIGHSTAR CAPITAL

New York, NY - AIG Global Investment Group (AIGGIG) and Lincolnshire Management Inc. (Lincolnshire) today announced that Highstar Harbor Holdings II, Inc., a subsidiary of AIG Highstar Capital (Highstar), entered into a definitive agreement with Lincolnshire Equity Fund III, L.P., a fund managed by Lincolnshire, to purchase AMPORTS, Inc (AMPORTS).  Terms were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, AMPORTS operates ports in Benicia, California, Baltimore, Maryland, Brunswick, Georgia, and on both coasts of Mexico and is the leading provider of port-side automotive processing services in North America.  The company owns much of the property from which it operates, giving it a strong competitive position and through its diverse geographic footprint the unique ability to offer its customers a full range of logistical and processing services.  AMPORTS CEO Jim Davis and the existing AMPORTS management team will continue to manage the business following its acquisition by Highstar.

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T.J. Maloney Featured in Private Equity Central Meet the Manager

Recently T.J. Maloney spoke with Private Equity Central.Net about his work in the private equity sector as well as his thoughts concerning Lincolnshire's overall plans and investment strategy.

PrivateEquityCentral.net: What is Lincolnshire’s overall strategy?

T.J. Maloney: Lincolnshire’s overall strategy is a strategy is built on great deal flow. We think we have really one of the best deal flows in the private equity industry, we look at almost 2,000 investment opportunities per year, the vast majority of which are non-auction investment opportunities and our firm has eight full time professionals, each of whom has more than 20 years of experience and three support staff, so we have 11 people devoted toward generating a fairly unique and certainly a very strong and very deep deal flow. The rest of us, the other 17 of us that doesn’t include the staff, but just the other 17 investment professionals also focuses, when they are not doing deals, on generating investment opportunities. I think we’ve got extremely strong deal flow here. We’ve always been a value investor, value investing is very much a part of our strategy and I think over time most people recognize that’s been the most tried and most proven strategy to work for long periods of time.

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Cutters Acquires Lone Wolf Wireline

Lone Wolf operations will enhance geographic presence

NEW YORK, New York - Lincolnshire Management announced that its portfolio company, Cutters Wireline Service, Inc., a leading provider of cased hole electric wireline services to natural gas and oil exploration and production companies in the Rocky Mountain region acquired Lone Wolf Wireline, Inc., a company that offers similar services in Utah and Colorado.  Terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 2002, Lone Wolf performs cased hole electric wireline services from facilities in Vernal, UT and Grand Junction, CO.  The services the company provides customers are critical throughout the life of a well and include logging, perforation, mechanical services and plug and abandonment.  The company utilizes measurement instruments and tools attached to armored cables that are lowered into the well shaft to log and evaluate downhole conditions, to perforate the well pipe and casing to enhance the flow of hydrocarbons, and to recover stuck piping from the shaft during the drilling process. click to read more

Lincolnshire and American Capital Awarded "Deal of the Year" by Los Angeles Venture Capital Group

Bethesda, MD – American Capital Strategies Ltd. announced today that its Los Angeles office and Lincolnshire Management Inc. have won the Private Equity Deal of the Year Award from the Los Angeles Venture Association (LAVA) for their partnership in Bankruptcy Management Solutions Inc. (BMS).   Lincolnshire was the equity sponsor on the transaction.  American Capital was the agent, a lender and co-invested in the equity with Lincolnshire.  The award was presented at LAVA’s annual awards dinner on Thursday, January 18.

“We are delighted that our success with Lincolnshire and Bankruptcy Management Solutions has been recognized by the Los Angeles Venture Association,” said Ira Wagner, American Capital Chief Operating Officer.  “This transaction is an excellent example of our ability to successfully partner with an equity sponsor and contribute to the growth of a portfolio company.”
American Capital has invested directly and through its funds under management $6.7 billion in 2006, $2.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006 and $454 million year to date.  Not including funds under management, American Capital has invested approximately $5.1 billion in 2006, $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006 and $430 million year to date. 

“We were pleased to support Lincolnshire throughout our investment in Bankruptcy Management Solutions,” said Frank Do, American Capital Managing Director.  “Our cumulative investments in BMS were highly successful, resulting in an outstanding return for American Capital.  We’re delighted to have been a part of its growth."

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Lincolnshire's Dalbo Expands Reach in Rockies
 
Oil & Gas exploration supplier broadens reach in Rockies

Bolstering its business in the Rocky Mountain region, Dalbo Inc. acquired Dawn Trucking Co. and BHS Inc. from their owners in a pair of deals collectively worth at least $155 million, it said Thursday, Jan. 4.
 
The transactions are the first two add-on acquisitions for the Vernal, Utah-based company, which transports water, mud and chemicals for oil and natural gas companies.
 
Dalbo has secured $155 million of senior debt financing from GE Energy Financial Services to support the two buys and refinance existing debt.
 
"The company has critical mass to service its customers in the Rocky Mountain region, which is expected to be a very strong region for production over the next 20 years," said George Henry, a managing director of Lincolnshire Management Inc., which owns a majority stake in Dalbo.
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Henry would not discuss how much equity New York buyout firm Lincolnshire had invested in the deal or comment on the target companies' cash flows.
 
Lincolnshire acquired control of Dalbo, which operates in eastern Utah and western Colorado, in December 2005 for $90 million with subordinated debt from TCW Group Inc.

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LMI Hires Senior Operating Partner to Oversee Portfolio Companies

New York– In a move to further enhance its operations expertise, Lincolnshire Management, a leading middle market private equity firm, today announced the appointment of James G. Binch as Senior Operating Partner and Managing Director. Mr. Binch will work closely with Lincolnshire portfolio companies to build, improve and optimize operational efficiencies.

Binch brings to the firm an extensive background in operations and general management with engineering and manufacturing companies.  He joins Lincolnshire from Memry Corporation, a publicly traded medical component manufacturer, where he spent 15 years, most recently as President and Chief Executive Officer.  Binch was previously with Combustion Engineering, a provider of application-specific engineered solutions and services, where he rose to the posts of president and chief operating officer of its process engineering operations.

“James will be a great addition to our team given his extensive and varied business background,” said T.J. Maloney, President of Lincolnshire.  “His experience and insights will be invaluable to our portfolio companies,” he added.

He joins a team of seasoned Lincolnshire operating executives, all of whom have in-depth knowledge of key industry sectors and a successful track record of improving the performance of mid-sized companies.

Binch's introduction to Memry Corporation came after he embarked on a new career as a merchant banker at Harbour Investment Corporation, a firm he founded and which became a major shareholder of Memry.  Prior to that, Binch was with Combustion Engineering for seven years, and with Champion Building Products, where he served as vice president of planning.

Mr. Binch received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University, and earned a master's degree in business from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Lincolnshire's Chicago based deal originator, Nick Nedeau - he with red cap and the general look of befuddlement - is accompanied by Shahab Fatazam (at the helm) and other members of Savvian Advisors on a jaunty midday Lake Michigan cruise aboard the Nedeau family Santa Cruz 70, a perennial contender in the prestigious Chicago to Mackinac Race.

 

LINCOLNSHIRE MANAGEMENT SELLS PRINCE SPORTS

NEW YORK– Lincolnshire Management, Inc., a leading middle-market private equity firm, today announced the sale of Prince Sports, a leading global developer and marketer of racquets and accessories for tennis, squash and racquetball, to Nautic Partners, LLC. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Bordentown, New Jersey, Prince is a premiere brand in racquet sports, having pioneered such revolutionary designs as the "oversized" and "longbody" racquets as well as the patented O-Port technology used in the O3 tennis racquets. The success of Prince in tennis has grown over the years to include a full range of products targeting all major racquet sports including, squash, racquetball and badminton. The Company's brands, which include PRINCE (tennis, squash and badminton) and EKTELON (racquetball), consistently place among the top global racquet sports brands. In tennis, Prince enjoys strong brand recognition in all of the world's largest markets including North America, South America, Asia and Europe and Prince racquets are used by many of the world's leading tennis professionals. As part of its global reach, the company maintains operations in the United Kingdom, Italy and Taiwan.

“Prince is a great brand and a fabulous success story for management and Lincolnshire,” said Mike Lyons, Senior Managing Director, at Lincolnshire Management.  “We teamed up with management and acquired the company from Benetton in 2003 and immediately set out to improve operations, realign the worldwide sales and distribution network and reinvigorate the brand with cutting edge new products.”

“We returned the company to its roots,” added Allan Weinstein, Managing Director at Lincolnshire, “by catering to the frequent player, the teaching professional community and driving market share growth with innovative technology and responsive customer service.” George Napier, CEO of Prince, said, “ it was a great partnership with the professionals at Lincolnshire. We not only accomplished the goals we set out four years ago, but we set the stage for the next phase of growth.  The entire management team is very excited about the continued future success of Prince.”

Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisor to Lincolnshire Management. Golenbock Eiseman Assor Bell & Peskoe LLP served as their legal counsel.