Country for PR: United States
Contributor: PR Newswire New York
Thursday, November 10 2022 - 02:04
AsiaNet
KPS CAPITAL PARTNERS TO SELL HOWDEN TO CHART INDUSTRIES
NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

KPS Capital Partners, LP ("KPS") announced today that it has signed a 
definitive agreement to sell its portfolio company, Howden (the "Company"), to 
Chart Industries, Inc. ("Chart Industries" or "Chart", NYSE: GTLS), a Ball 
Ground, Georgia based manufacturer of highly engineered equipment servicing 
multiple applications in the clean energy and industrial gas markets, for $4.4 
billion.

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Howden is a leading global provider of air and gas handling solutions that 
drive enhanced safety, efficiency and environmental sustainability in 
mission-critical processes across a broad range of attractive and fast-growing 
industrial markets.  Howden manufactures a complete portfolio of rotating 
equipment products, including compressors, blowers, fans, rotary heaters and 
steam turbines. The Company's products enable its customers' vital processes, 
which advance a more sustainable world. Headquartered in Renfrew, Scotland, 
Howden employs more than 6,500 associates globally in 35 countries, including 
over 750 engineers.

KPS acquired Howden in 2019 from Colfax Corporation in a highly complex global 
corporate carve-out transaction. KPS assembled an accomplished management team, 
led by Chief Executive Officer Ross Shuster, to lead the transformation of 
Howden into a large scale, leading global air and gas handling platform.  In 
just over three years of ownership, KPS, in partnership with management, 
successfully transformed Howden into a fully independent, fast-growing company 
focused on innovation.  

KPS and Howden's management team executed an aggressive growth strategy that 
repositioned Howden towards sustainability-linked end-markets and 
applications.  Under KPS' ownership, Howden entered or expanded its presence in 
end-markets that are critical to the future of the industrial economy, 
including hydrogen compression, carbon capture, utilization and storage, 
wastewater treatment and energy recovery.  KPS made significant investments in 
the Howden platform, including completing seven highly-synergistic add-on 
acquisitions, supporting new product development and technology innovation, 
investing in manufacturing capacity expansions and executing operational 
improvements.  As a result of these actions, Howden achieved record orders, 
revenue and profitability under KPS' ownership.

Raquel Palmer, Co-Managing Partner of KPS, stated, "Howden exemplifies the KPS 
investment strategy of seeing value where others do not, buying right and 
making businesses better, across decades, economic and business cycles, 
geographies and industries.

We are proud of Howden's extraordinary transformation under our ownership.  
Howden demonstrates our ability to partner with world-class management teams to 
build industry-leading manufacturing companies on a global basis.  The 
Company's success is a direct result of KPS' commitment to and investment in 
Howden's organic and strategic growth initiatives and its people.  The Company 
is well-positioned for continued growth and industry leadership under Chart's 
ownership.

We congratulate and thank Ross Shuster, Howden's Chief Executive Officer, along 
with the Company's senior management team, for their strategic vision and 
brilliant execution, which resulted in the Company's significant growth and 
value creation under our ownership.  Chart recognized Howden's remarkable 
transformation, which was made possible by the hard work and dedication of all 
of Howden's employees.  We are excited for the future of the combined Chart and 
Howden business.  We believe there is tremendous industrial logic in combining 
the two businesses and that the combination will deliver significant value for 
all stakeholders."

Ross Shuster, Chief Executive Officer of Howden, added, "Our partnership with 
KPS has been extraordinary. KPS recognized the underlying potential of the 
Howden business and actively supported the Howden team through a significant 
business transformation over the past three years. Today, Howden has a stronger 
team, highly robust processes and a superior financial profile. In addition, 
Howden's business and growth strategies are aligned with a number of global 
macro-trends including the energy transition, decarbonization of industry, and 
electrification. The strength of the Company has been recognized by Chart 
Industries, and Howden will continue on its positive trajectory as an integral 
part of Chart.

Howden and Chart have worked together in the recent past, including on a 
handful of key projects for joint customers. In 2021, Howden signed a 
Memorandum of Understanding that resulted in cooperating on a number of 
ground-breaking projects, including the construction of a new hydrogen 
liquefaction plant in Canada.  The success of our relationship gives me great 
confidence that Chart's acquisition of Howden will enable the combined company 
to offer customers a broader set of innovations, solutions and services."

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays and Evercore 
served as financial advisors and Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP 
served as legal counsel to KPS and Howden.  Completion of the transaction is 
subject to customary closing conditions and approvals.

About Howden

Howden is a leading global provider of mission critical air and gas handling 
products and services.  The Company's products enable its customers' vital 
processes which advance a more sustainable world. Based in Renfrew, Scotland, 
Howden has over 160 years of heritage as a world-class application engineering 
and manufacturing company with a presence in 35 countries. Howden manufactures 
highly engineered fans, compressors, heat exchangers, steam turbines, and other 
air and gas handling equipment, and provides service and support to customers 
around the world in highly diversified end-markets and geographies. More 
information can be found at www.howden.com

About KPS Capital Partners, LP

KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS 
Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with approximately $13.6 
billion of assets under management (as of June 30, 2022).  For over three 
decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant 
capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing 
and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic 
materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, 
capital equipment and general manufacturing.  KPS creates value for its 
investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make 
businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving 
the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio 
companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage.  The KPS Funds' 
portfolio companies currently generate aggregate annual revenues of 
approximately $21.6 billion, operate 232 manufacturing facilities in 27 
countries, and have approximately 53,000 employees, directly and through joint 
ventures worldwide (as of June 30, 2022, pro forma for recent acquisitions and 
exits).  The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in 
detail at www.kpsfund.com.

About Chart Industries, Inc.

Chart Industries, Inc. is a leading independent global manufacturer of highly 
engineered equipment servicing multiple applications in the Energy and 
Industrial Gas markets.  The company's unique product portfolio is used in 
every phase of the liquid gas supply chain, including upfront engineering, 
service and repair.  Being at the forefront of the clean energy transition, 
Chart is a leading provider of technology, equipment and services related to 
liquefied natural gas, hydrogen, biogas and CO2 Capture amongst other 
applications. Chart is committed to excellence in environmental, social and 
corporate governance (ESG) issues both for its company as well as our 
customers.  With over 25 global manufacturing locations from the United States 
to China, Australia, India, Europe and South America, Chart maintains 
accountability and transparency to its team members, suppliers, customers and 
communities.  To learn more, visit www.Chartindustries.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements", including statements 
regarding the contemplated transaction. Forward-looking statements can 
generally be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," 
"continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," 
"project," "potential," "seek," "should," "think," "will," "would" and similar 
expressions, or they may use future dates. Forward-looking statements in this 
document include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's 
expectations as to the completion, timing and anticipated impacts of the 
contemplated transaction. These forward-looking statements are subject to 
assumptions, risks and uncertainties that may change at any time, and readers 
are therefore cautioned that actual results could differ materially from those 
expressed in any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual 
results to differ include, among other things: the occurrence of any event, 
change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the 
definitive agreement or could otherwise cause the transactions contemplated 
therein to fail to close; the inability of the Company or Chart to satisfy the 
conditions to closing; and other risks and uncertainties. The Company 
undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result 
of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as expressly 
required by law. All forward-looking statements in this document are qualified 
in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

Statements By Portfolio Company Executives

Certain statements about KPS made by portfolio company executives herein are 
intended to illustrate KPS' business relationship with such persons, including 
with respect to KPS' facilities as a business partner, rather than KPS' 
capabilities or expertise with respect to investment advisory services.  
Portfolio company executives were not compensated in connection with the 
communication of such statements, although they generally receive compensation 
and investment opportunities in connection with their portfolio company roles, 
and in certain cases are also owners of portfolio company securities and/or 
investors in KPS-sponsored vehicles.  Such compensation and investments subject 
participants to potential conflicts of interest in making the statements 
herein. 

SOURCE  KPS Capital Partners, LP

CONTACT: Business Inquiries, KPS, +1 212.338.5100; Media, Jennifer Prosek or 
Trevor Gibbons, +1 646.818.9238, pro-KPS@prosek.com

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