apparatus firegeezer on 17 Jul 2008 08:18 am
E-One Finally Finds A Buyer
FEDERAL SIGNAL CORP. ANNOUNCED WEDNESDAY EVENING that they have agreed to sell their subsidiary E-One to a buyout group.
Waiting until the stock markets closed, they issued a press release stating that the current management team, including CEO Peter Guile, will join with American Industrial Partners (AIP) to purchase the fire/rescue apparatus maker for $20 million. AIP is a private-equity firm that makes investments in mid-sized industrial companies.
They expect the sale to be completed and closed within the next 30 days.
Firegeezer notes that the selling price looks like a real bargain. The current management team apparently took advantage of Federal Signal’s eagerness to shed the company and took it over for almost nothing. This is good news for the people of Ocala, Florida where the plant is located. If the company can salvage their dealership structure and weather the current sales slump, they stand a chance of surviving.
Rick Cundiff at the Ocala Star-Banner has the news and some background on the situation HERE.
You can read the press release issued last night HERE.
on 17 Jul 2008 at 4:27 pm 1.Dal90 said …
Fire Apparatus has a long history of boom-n-bust. The lastest bust cycle was softened (or at least delayed) by the FIRE Act and other post 9-11 spending splurges.
Looks to me like we’re entering a time of austerity in local finances not seen since the 1970s — people will not want higher tax bills during next spring’s referendum season after paying for $5 heating oil this winter.
My guess is you won’t see recovery in apparatus building until FY 2011-2012.