Irving Place Capital Completes Acquisition of Ohio Transmission Corporation

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Irving Place Capital (“IPC”), a middle-market private equity firm, today
announced that it has completed its acquisition of Ohio Transmission
Corporation (“OTC”), a leading technical distributor of highly
engineered motion control, pump and air compressor products. Terms of
the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1963 and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, OTC has grown
organically and via acquisitions to serve over 11,000 customers across
diverse end-markets by developing technical and consultative sales,
repair and aftermarket capabilities. The company’s primary product
offerings include pumps, bearings, power transmission, factory
automation, and compressed air products and related services. OTC’s
geographic footprint includes 23 branch locations in 12 states.

“Ohio Transmission Corporation’s long-standing focus on providing
technical solutions and support to its customers and suppliers is a
differentiated approach in the industrial distribution sector, and one
that has resulted in consistent growth throughout its history,” said
Devraj Roy, Partner at Irving Place Capital. “We look forward to
partnering with the management team to continue to build on this strong
foundation.”

The members of OTC’s management team, led by CEO Phil Derrow, will
continue in their current roles and will retain equity ownership in the
business. Bob Grubbs, former CEO of Anixter International, will continue
in his role as Chairman of OTC. Carlos Cardoso, former CEO of Kennametal
and Senior Advisor at IPC, will also join the OTC Board of Directors.

“Over the past five decades, we have established a distribution business
that offers technical and value-added solutions to our customers,
delivers growth and market access to our supplier partners, and presents
exciting career opportunities to our associates,” stated Mr. Derrow.
“Our partnership with Irving Place Capital in this next phase will give
us access to greater resources and capabilities to continue our
expansion, both organically and through acquisitions.”

“I am thrilled to continue working with the OTC management team to help
drive growth and profitability,” said Mr. Grubbs. “Partnering with the
Irving Place Capital team, with whom I have enjoyed a long-standing
relationship, gives me the confidence that we will have an experienced
and knowledgeable investor to support the company going forward.”

About Ohio Transmission Corporation

Established in 1963, Ohio Transmission Corporation is one of the largest
industrial distributors and service providers in the United States. Its
divisions include OTP Industrial Solutions, a provider of expert
solutions for industrial motion control, fluid power, power transmission
and pumping systems, and Air Technologies®, a compressed air system
equipment and service provider and the largest distributor of Atlas
Copco compressed air equipment in North America. Ohio Transmission
Corporation maintains locations throughout the Midwest and South. Ohio
Transmission Corporation’s 650 associates share its founding vision of
delivering excellent value through work with integrity. For more
information, please visit www.otpnet.com
and www.aircompressors.com.

About Irving Place Capital

Since its founding in 1997, IPC has invested in over 60 portfolio
companies, primarily in the industrial, packaging, consumer and retail
sectors. IPC has successfully executed a broad range of transactions,
including buyouts, recapitalizations, build-ups, corporate divestitures,
take-privates and distressed-to-control situations. IPC generally seeks
to invest in companies headquartered in North America or Western Europe.
More information about Irving Place Capital is available at www.irvingplacecapital.com.

Contacts

Media:
Brunswick Group
Alex Yankus, 212-333-3810