Alantra advises Douglas Machine on sale to Aeroequity, Inc., and Cai Capital Partners & Company Iii, L.P.

Mar 2006

Sell-side advisory

Boston – Alantra is pleased to announce the sale of Douglas Machine & Tool Co., Inc., and Douglas Machine & Manufacturing LLC to AeroEquity, Inc., and CAI Capital Partners and Company III, L.P. The transaction value was not disclosed.

Douglas Machine, with manufacturing facilities in Cincinnati, Ohio and Budapest, Hungary, is a leading manufacturer of industrial and aerospace gas turbine engine precision components used in power generation and aircraft propulsion by OEMs and the aftermarket. Approximately 85% of the company’s business is devoted to the efficient, low-cost production of cooling holes for industrial gas turbine nozzles, blades and vanes. The remaining 15% of the business is focused on the manufacture of aircraft engine components. The 2004 recovery of the aerospace and land-based turbine industries and considerable demand for new as well as refurbished engines should provide an opportunity for significant growth for the private equity buyers within these sectors.

The sale of Douglas Machine & Tool marks the fourth transaction for Alantra in the past two years within its active Aerospace & Defense practice. “Our firm has developed a deep knowledge of the business and the key international players within the turbine engine components niche market,” said Wade Aust, Managing Director. “Suddenly, the M&A prospects for land-based and aerospace turbine companies have drastically improved from 2.5 years ago when the sector was stagnant.”