AP Exhaust Announces the Acquisition of Eastern Catalytic

October 2, 2015 | By Business Wire News

GOLDSBORO, N.C.

AP Exhaust Technologies, LLC. (“AP”), a portfolio company of Audax Group (“Audax”), announced it has completed the acquisition of Eastern Catalytic (“Eastern”), headquartered in Langhorne, PA.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151002005677/en/

Founded in 1927, AP is one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of automotive, light truck, and heavy-duty full line exhaust and emissions products under the AP®, CATCO®, ANSA®, Cherry Bomb®, TruckEx®, Xlerator®, and Silverline® brands among others to the automotive and heavy-duty aftermarket. Through its Aristo division, AP is able to deliver unique technologies to the automotive and heavy duty aftermarkets through its captive catalyst manufacturing capability.

Eastern, founded in 1979, is a leading supplier of direct fit, universal, and manifold catalytic converters for the automotive light duty aftermarket.

Chris Ostrander, CEO of AP Exhaust, said “I am extremely excited to welcome the Eastern team to the AP family. The combined companies bring two complementary leadership teams that share a commitment to delivering innovation to the aftermarket and going above and beyond to provide best-in-class service and support to our customers. Uniting two great companies expands our brand offering, augments our research and development, accelerates our new product development, and enhances our on-line catalog capabilities – all of which will enrich our mutual customers’ buying experience by bringing products to market faster and providing them the most comprehensive full line offering in the market.”

Young Lee, Managing Director of Audax Group, said “This acquisition adds another well-recognized brand into the AP portfolio, combining AP’s full line exhaust offering and expertise with Eastern’s product development capabilities, and it positions us as a leading exhaust and emissions supplier in the North American automotive and heavy duty aftermarket. We look forward to working with the AP and Eastern teams to continue building the AP platform through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.”

Angle Advisors advised Eastern. Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP served as counsel to Eastern. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP served as counsel to AP and Audax Group. GSO Capital and Madison Capital provided financing for the transaction.

ABOUT AUDAX GROUP

Audax Group is an alternative asset management firm specializing in investments in middle market companies. With offices in Boston, New York and Menlo Park, Audax has over $6 billion in assets under management in its Private Equity, Mezzanine, and Senior Debt businesses. For more information visit the Audax Group website www.audaxgroup.com.