NEW YORK, February 2, 1998 - Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York merchant bank, announced today it had completed the sale of MAG Aerospace Industries, Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of aircraft toilets and trash compactors, to Zodiac S.A., a French aeronautical and marine equipment company.
The transaction was valued at $180 million, including a $3 million contingency payment if MAG achieves certain performance objectives.
MAG, based in Compton, California, was acquired in December 1993 by Castle Harlan Partners II, L.P., a Castle Harlan investment partnership. The sale provides Castle Harlan investors a return of more than 52 percent, compounded annually, said Castle Harlan Vice President Justin Wender, or approximately six times average invested equity.
MAG Aerospace is the world's leading supplier of vacuum and recirculating sanitation systems for commercial and commuter aircraft and also has a significant share of the market in toilets for trains and buses. MAG also manufacturers the only trash compactors approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for use on commercial planes.
MAG's customers include Boeing, Airbus and Amtrak, as well as railroads in many parts of the world, including France and China.
Zodiac is a leader in the manufacture of aircraft passenger seats, aircraft escape chutes, helicopter floats, flexible fuel tanks and parachute systems. The company is also the leading maker worldwide of inflatable boats, life rafts and watersports products. Its headquarters is in Paris, and its shares are traded on the Paris Stock Exchange.
Castle Harlan was founded in 1987. The firm is headed by John K. Castle, its chairman and former president and chief executive officer of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, the Wall Street investment firm, and Leonard M. Harlan, Castle Harlan president, and former chairman and founder of The Harlan Company, a real estate investment and financial advisory firm.
The firm's portfolio companies have included Ethan Allen Interiors, the furniture company; Morton's Restaurant Group, the nationwide chain of upscale steakhouses; Smarte Carte, the leading airport baggage cart rental company, and Delaware Management, a major international money-management firm with assets under management of more than $32 billion. Since its found-ing, Castle Harlan has completed acquisitions exceeding $3 billion.