Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 15, 1995 TAG: 9508150042
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: F.J. GALLAGHER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``We've known since April that a number of USI companies were candidates for divestiture,'' Mike Harman, president of the Rocky Mount-based MW Manufacturing Inc., said of the sale to Fenway Partners Inc. ``This move is a part of that plan.''
MW Manufacturing, with more than 1,000 nonunion employees in Franklin County and 10 plants throughout the Southeast, reportedly sold more than 1.5 million windows and doors in 1994. The company is one of the nation's biggest suppliers of vinyl-clad windows.
The five other companies involved, with total annual sales of nearly $340 million, fall into two categories: building materials and consumer leisure products.
The building products companies, in addition to MW, include Alabama-based Brown Moulding, a maker and distributor of architectural wood moldings; and Halkey-Roberts Corp., of St. Petersburg, Fla., which manufactures valves and pneumatic systems for medical applications and aero-marine safety products.
Also included were Bay City, Mich.-based Valley Recreation Products Inc., a maker of coin-operated pool tables and dart games; artificial-flower distributor Teters Floral Products Inc. of Bolivar, Mo.; and bow manufacturer Bear Archery of Gainesville, Fla.
``We have assembled a package of properties that represent attractive value with potential for growth both internally and through acquisitions,'' said Peter Lamm, a principal of Fenway Partners. Fenway concentrates on purchasing mid-size companies and trying to increase their value by investing in the businesses, his statement said.
Harman agreed with Lamm's growth projections, adding that he welcomed the change in ownership.
``I see it as a positive because Fenway has a clear strategy for expanding MW's business,'' Harman said. ``In fact, we have some plans under way already for product-line expansions. Those will probably formulate a lot quicker now.''
Fenway, an investment firm with nearly $250 million in holdings under its management, has most of its holdings in domestic industrial and service companies.
U.S. Industries is a diversified industrial management corporation whose holdings include makers of brand-name products, such as Jacuzzi baths, Ames garden tools and Faberware cookware. U.S. Industries is a division of London conglomerate Hanson PLC. Hanson formed U.S. Industries in February in a move it said was to prepare for more acquisitions.
by CNB