Western Reserve Partners Advises Group Dekko in Acquisition by Centre Partners Management


July 27, 2006

Western Reserve Partners LLC is pleased to announce that it represented Pent Technologies, Inc. and Dekko Technologies, Inc., together comprising Group Dekko, in their acquisition by Centre Partners Management LLC (Centre). Key members of Group Dekko's senior management team partnered with Centre in its investment through a newly formed entity, Group Dekko Holdings, Inc.

Group Dekko is a leading provider of highly engineered electrical, wire, plastic and metal subcomponents; finished products; and fixtures and related assemblies for the office furniture, transportation, lighting, appliance, medical device and consumer product end markets. Utilizing more than 190 active, pending and provisional patents, Group Dekko has a broad range of manufacturing and assembly capabilities, including metal forming, stamping, powder coating, plastic molding and extrusion, product assembly and built-to-order, highly customized products. The company is headquartered in Kendallville, Indiana, and employs more than 1,500 people in 30 modern facilities located in Indiana, Iowa, Alabama, Texas and Mexico.

Centre is a leading middle-market private equity firm with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas. Centre's managing directors have invested more than $3 billion of equity capital in more than 80 businesses in the past 20 years. Centre invested in Group Dekko through its fourth fund, Centre IV, which has approximately $780 million of committed capital.

Handling the assignment for Western Reserve Partners were Managing Directors Mark Filippell and Joseph Carson and Vice President David Mariano. Mr. Filippell said, “We respect the tradition of quality and innovation that is Group Dekko’s hallmark. It was an honor and a pleasure for Western Reserve Partners to serve such a fine organization.”

Group Dekko Chief Executive Officer Steven Hankins said, “Our senior management and employees are excited to have Centre Partners as our business and financial partner. We never would have connected with them or worked out a deal without Western Reserve Partners’ help. They were with us every step of the way and did a terrific job.”

Group Dekko Chief Financial Officer Charles Schrimper said, “The Western Reserve Partners team worked hard to achieve the best possible result for Group Dekko’s shareholders and employees. They gave us extraordinary client service.”

Western Reserve Partners LLC is a boutique investment banking firm that provides customized investment banking solutions for middle-market companies. The firm’s managing directors collectively have more than 160 years of experience and have directly executed more than 500 transactions and managed more than 1,300 transactions. For more information, visit www.wesrespartners.com.

The testimonials presented are applicable to the individuals depicted and may not be representative of the experience of others. The testimonials are not paid and are not indicative of future performance or success.