Recent Fairness Opinions Involving Publicly-Traded Companies


April 3, 2008

With new NASD Rule 2290(a) (effective December 8) now requiring any FINRA member firm delivering a fairness opinion that will be shared with public stockholders to disclose substantial relationships with any party to the transaction and all types of fees contingent upon its successful completion, the “boutique” status of Western Reserve Partners offers an extra degree of independence and objectivity whenever needed or desired.

As exemplified by two recent transactions highlighted below, Western Reserve has the experience and qualifications to provide valuations and fairness opinions for the most important transactions involving publicly-traded as well as privately-held companies. During their combined careers, Western Reserve’s investment bankers have completed more than 200 valuation or fairness opinion assignments across a wide variety of industries and with companies ranging from closely-held private to broadly-traded public ownership.

Cohesant Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: COHT) reached a definitive agreement for the sale of its GlasCraft Cohesant subsidiary to Graco Inc. (NYSE: GGG), a leading provider of fluid handling systems and components. Western Reserve was engaged to provide Cohesant’s Board of Directors with a fairness opinion regarding the sale of GlasCraft, along with a valuation, for tax purposes, of the remaining subsidiaries of Cohesant which were spun-out to the shareholders.

The written opinion and a summary of Western Reserve’s analysis were included in Cohesant’s solicitation statement filed with the SEC on December 14, 2007. The transaction was closed in February 2008.

Claymont Steel Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTE), was approached by Evraz Group S.A. (LSE: EVR), one of the world’s largest vertically-integrated steel businesses, with a series of proposals for a possible transaction. Western Reserve was selected to provide Claymont Steel’s Board of Directors with an independent valuation of the company and to serve as a resource to the company in its ongoing negotiations with Evraz.

The final offer from Evraz was to purchase all of Claymont Steel’s common stock at $23.50 per share, for an enterprise value of approximately $575 million. Western Reserve’s fairness opinion and related analysis were included in Claymont Steel’s solicitation statement filed with the SEC on December 18, 2007. The transaction was consummated in January 2008.

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.

For additional information, please contact David Powlen at (317) 727-2211 or dpowlen@wesrespartners.com or Mark Filippell at (216) 589-9532 or mfilippell@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.