Anchor Drilling Fluids USA, Inc., the largest independent provider of drilling fluids and fluid-handling services for U.S. onshore oil and gas drilling, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Advantage Drilling Fluids LLC. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Advantage, based in Longmont, Colorado, is a leading provider of drilling and completion fluid services to oil and natural gas drillers in the Piceance Basin in Colorado and the Uintah Basin in Utah, which are among the most active natural gas drilling basins in the Rocky Mountains. Like Anchor, Advantage focuses on complex, unconventional drilling environments, which require specialized drilling fluid products and engineering services.

Advantage will retain its name and continue to be led by Jack Cantley, the company’s founder. Cantley and other Advantage employees will roll a significant portion of their proceeds into Anchor’s equity.

Bob West, the chief executive officer of Anchor, said, “The Rocky Mountain region has become an important long-term area for the U.S. domestic gas supply and is an area in which both Anchor and Advantage currently operate. The great benefit of this transaction is that Anchor’s and Advantage’s businesses in this region complement each other perfectly. They do not compete.”

Cantley said the combination “gives Advantage an even greater ability to grow and improve the breadth and quality of its services to customers throughout the Rockies.”

Anchor is a portfolio company of Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York private equity investment firm, which acquired Anchor last April.

Castle Harlan, founded in 1987, invests in controlling interests in the buyout and development of middle-market companies in North America, Europe and, together with CHAMP Private Equity, Australasia. Since inception, Castle Harlan has invested in companies representing over $9 billion in enterprise value.

Castle Harlan’s current portfolio companies, which employ more than 42,000 people, include United Malt Holdings, one of the world’s largest producers of malt for the brewing and distilling industries; Ames True Temper, a leading manufacturer of lawn and garden tools and accessories; and Baker & Taylor, the leading global distributor of books and entertainment products to libraries and retailers.

NEW YORK, April 16, 2008 - Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York private equity investment firm, announced today it has completed its purchase of Anchor Drilling Fluids USA, Inc., the nation's largest independent provider of drilling fluids and fluid-handling services for onshore oil and gas drilling. The transaction was valued at approximately $250 million.

Anchor, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has more than 20 operating facilities stretching across eight states from Texas to Wyoming. Anchor focuses on providing proprietary drilling fluid blends and customized engineering services to complex onshore drilling operations in many of the fastest growing drilling regions in the United States.

William Pruellage, the Castle Harlan managing director who led the firm's acquisition team, expressed confidence that Anchor will continue to show solid growth in the future. "The company has an experienced management team with strong customer relationships and a growing position in the most active onshore oil and natural gas regions in the country," he said.

Castle Harlan said that Bob West, Anchor's chief executive officer, his son Phil West, the president and chief operating officer, and other members of senior management will continue to hold a significant equity interest in the company.

Anchor had been a portfolio company of American Capital Strategies, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACAS), a private equity firm based in Bethesda, Maryland.

Castle Harlan has owned a number of companies in the energy industry over the years, including:

RathGibson, a leading manufacturer of highly engineered premium stainless steel and alloy welded tubular products used in oil and gas drilling, among other applications;

Universal Compression, one of the world's largest providers of natural gas compression equipment and services;

Statia, a global leader among independent marine terminal companies; and

US Synthetic, the world's largest independent manufacturer of synthetic diamonds used in oil and gas drill bits.

Castle Harlan, founded in 1987, invests in controlling interests in the buyout and development of middle-market companies in North America, Europe and, together with CHAMP Private Equity, Australasia. Since inception, Castle Harlan has invested in companies representing over $9 billion in enterprise value. Anchor is Castle Harlan's 49th acquisition.

Castle Harlan's current portfolio companies, which employ more than 42,000 people, include AmeriCast Technologies, a leading designer and manufacturer of large, complex steel castings used in mining trucks, locomotives and energy equipment; Ames True Temper, a leading manufacturer of lawn and garden tools and accessories; and Baker & Taylor, the leading global distributor of books and entertainment products to libraries and retailers.

NEW YORK, March 12, 2008 - Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York private equity investment firm, announced today it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Anchor Drilling Fluids USA, Inc., the nation's largest independent provider of drilling fluids and fluid-handling services for onshore oil and gas drilling, in a purchase valued at $250 million. Anchor is a portfolio company of American Capital Strategies, Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS), a private equity firm based in Bethesda, Maryland.

The transaction is expected to close in a few weeks, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions, including debt financing for the transaction.

Anchor, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has more than 20 operating facilities in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The company's operations focus on regions that have complex onshore drilling environments, which require proprietary drilling fluid blends and customized engineering services. Drilling fluids are used to remove cuttings from oil and gas drilling sites, to lubricate drill bits and to control formation pressures.

In addition to drilling fluids, the company's fluid-handling operations include freshwater and production water transport services in the Piceance Basin in Colorado, one of the fastest growing drilling regions in the United States.

William Pruellage, the managing director who led the negotiations for Castle Harlan, noted that the company has an experienced management team with strong customer relationships and a growing position in the most active onshore oil and natural gas regions in the country.

"Over the past 35 years, Anchor has worked in close partnership with some of the most active land drilling companies in the country," Pruellage said. "We are confident that Anchor will continue to show solid growth in the years ahead."

Existing management, including Chief Executive Officer Bob West and his son, President and Chief Operating Officer Phil West, will continue to hold a significant equity interest in the company, Pruellage said.

Castle Harlan is buying the company from American Capital, which had partnered with Bob and Phil West to acquire Anchor in July 2005. Since 2005, Anchor has purchased Ozark Mud & Chemical Inc., a provider of drilling fluid services and equipment rentals in the Fayetteville Shale, and Toby's Vacuum Truck Service Inc., a fluid-handling business servicing the Piceance Basin.

Castle Harlan has previously owned a number of companies in the energy industry, including RathGibson, a leading manufacturer of highly engineered premium stainless steel and alloy welded tubular products used in oil and gas drilling, among other applications; Universal Compression, one of the world's largest providers of natural gas compression equipment and services; Statia, a global leader among independent marine terminal companies, and US Synthetic, the world's largest independent manufacturer of synthetic diamonds used in oil and gas drill bits.

Castle Harlan, founded in 1987, invests in controlling interests in the buyout and development of middle-market companies in North America, Europe and, together with CHAMP Private Equity, in Australasia. It has completed 48 acquisitions since its inception with a total value in excess of $9 billion.

Castle Harlan's current portfolio companies, which employ more than 42,000 people, include AmeriCast Technologies, a leading designer and manufacturer of large, complex steel castings weighing more than 10,000 pounds used for mining trucks, locomotives and energy equipment; Ames True Temper, a leading manufacturer of lawn and garden tools and accessories; and Baker & Taylor, the leading global distributor of books and entertainment products to libraries and retailers.