Sold by J.F. Lehman, Drew and ACR will merge

NOVEMBER 20, 2013 — Middle-market private equity firm J.F. Lehman & Company has sold its portfolio company Drew Marine, which it acquired in 2009, to affiliates of The Jordan Company.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, however Louis Mintz, Chairman of Drew Marine and a Partner at J.F. Lehman, called the sale “an excellent outcome for our investors.”

Concurrent with the sale of Drew Marine, J.F. Lehman also sold its portfolio company ACR Electronics, Inc. (“ACR”) to The Jordan Company.

Under the new ownership, Drew Marine and ACR are being merged.

ACR is a leading provider of safety and survival solutions including emergency rescue beacons and safety and signaling lighting to aviation, marine, military and outdoor recreation markets worldwide.

“We are proud of the profitable growth and expansion that Drew Marine has achieved over the past four years,” said Len Gelosa, President and Chief Executive Officer of Drew Marine. “J.F. Lehman has been instrumental in helping solidify our reputation and brand portfolio, expand our capabilities through organic growth and acquisition, improve our infrastructure and recruit key talent to our team. We look forward to continuing this momentum under The Jordan Company.”

Louis Mintz, Chairman of Drew Marine and a Partner at J.F. Lehman, added, “Our successful partnership with management since 2009 enabled Drew Marine to firmly establish a proven track record as an industry leader. In addition, the sale of Drew Marine represents an excellent outcome for our investors, whose support has been essential to our organization’s continuing success.”

Evercore Group LLC and Rothschild, Inc. served as financial advisors to J.F. Lehman and Jones Day provided legal counsel.

Drew Marine is a leading provider of technical solutions and services to the maritime and offshore industries specializing in fire, safety and rescue (FSR), water treatment, maintenance chemicals, fuel management and welding and refrigeration products.

“The addition of ACR to Drew Marine is part of our strategy to expand our offerings in the safety and rescue markets,” said Mr. Gelosa. “ACR products, combined with our Pains Wessex and Comet pyrotechnic signals, provide a complete solution to rescue signaling. The ACR and ARTEX brands – like the Drew Marine, Pains Wessex, Comet, Aurora and Alexander / Ryan brands – are known for world class quality, state of the art technology and unsurpassed reliability.”

Michael Wilkerson, President and CEO of ACR, said, “We are extremely pleased to be joining Drew Marine as an important part of their strategy to provide the most advanced and reliable rescue solutions. Drew Marine’s reputation and commitment to quality, reliability and technology is a perfect match with the ACR culture. We look forward to growing our business together with Drew Marine.”