NEW YORK, June 23 - Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York-based merchant bank, announced today that StackTeck Systems Incorporated, the largest independent plastic injection mold-maker in North America, has acquired Unique Mould Makers Limited of Toronto in a transaction valued at $10.5 million (Canadian).
Unique Mould Makers will join Tradesco Mold Limited, also of Toronto, and Fairway Molds of Los Angeles, as a company within the StackTeck group. StackTeck had revenues in 1998 of approximately $40 million, and its acquisition of Unique Mould Makers will raise its annualized revenues to more than $50 million.
Castle Harlan Partners II, L.P., a private equity limited partnership formed and managed by Castle Harlan, will continue to own about 77 percent of StackTeck, and the managements and employees of StackTeck and its operating companies will hold about 23 percent. Castle Harlan acquired Tradesco in 1996 and Fairway in September 1998.
Robert Wages, the Castle Harlan director who oversees the StackTeck investment, said the operations of Unique Mould Makers would be greatly enhanced by its new ability to share the marketing, technical and financial resources offered by StackTeck and the two other companies.
"Unique Mould Makers is a first-class company with an outstanding reputation," Wages said. "This transaction gives StackTeck the opportunity to take advantage of the significant synergies that will exist under its umbrella, and all three companies will benefit."
Wages said that Werner Scheliga, founder and chief executive of Unique Mould Makers, will retire, and Tony Grossi will continue as company president, reporting to David Brown, StackTeck CEO. All other members of senior management at Unique will remain in their positions.
Castle Harlan Partners II is one of several investment funds totaling more than $1 billion that have been organized by Castle Harlan, Inc., and that represent major corporate and public pension funds, college endowments, foundations and individual investors. Since Castle Harlan's founding in 1987, the firm has completed acquisitions exceeding $3.5 billion.
Castle Harlan's portfolio companies have included Delaware Management Company, a Philadelphia money-management firm with more than $32 billion in assets under management; Indspec Chemical Corporation, a specialty chemical manufacturer; Smarte Carte, the world's leading airport luggage cart rental company, and MAG Aerospace, the leader in worldwide manufacture of aircraft sanitation systems.
Currently among its portfolio companies are Worldwide Flight Services, one of the world's leading providers of ground services for the commercial aviation industry; Universal Compression, Inc., a leading independent provider of natural gas compression equipment and services; and Commemorative Brands, Inc., one of the leading manufacturers of class rings and other specialty jewelry under the ArtCarved and Balfour brand names.
Castle Harlan was founded by John K. Castle, a pioneer in institutionalizing private equity investing through limited partnerships and the former president and chief executive officer of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, the investment banking firm, and by Leonard M. Harlan, founder and former owner and chairman of The Harlan Company, a diversified real estate and corporate finance advisory firm.