November 5, 2002
American Securities Capital Partners Sells Its Stake in CTB Internationa
American Securities Capital Partners (ASCP), the New York private-equity investment firm, announced today that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) had completed its acquisition of CTB International Corp. (Nasdaq: CTBC) in a transaction valued at $180 million. ASCP was CTB's largest shareholder, with a 42 percent stake.
CTB, based in Milford, Indiana, is a worldwide leader in the manufacture of equipment for the poultry and egg production, hog and grain industries. Berkshire Hathaway paid $12.75 per share and is absorbing CTB as a wholly owned subsidiary.
ASCP had acquired a controlling interest in CTB in January 1996 from the Chocola family, descendants of founder Howard Brembeck, and oversaw an initial public offering in August 1997.
Michael Fisch, president of ASCP, noted that CTB had grown its sales by more than 68 percent since 1995 and its net earnings rose by more than 120 percent in that same period, to more than $14 million in 2001.
Fisch said that CTB had been an outstanding investment for ASCP. "With the closing of this transaction," he said, "our partners will have achieved a very substantial return on their investment."
American Securities Capital Partners is the private-equity investment arm of American Securities, a family office founded in 1947 by the late William Rosenwald, to manage his share of his family's Sears Roebuck fortune.
ASCP is currently investing its third private-equity investment fund with outside investors, a fund with commitments of $650 million that was raised in 2001.
