Marathon Asset Management and the Marathon Automotive Group Close Acquisition of...

NEW YORK, PRNewswire/ -- Marathon Asset Management, LLC ("Marathon") announced today that the Marathon Automotive Group has completed its previously announced acquisition of CONTECH from SPX Corporation. Marathon provided the financing for the deal, the most meaningful acquisition to date for the Marathon Automotive Group. The Marathon Automotive Group was formed by Marathon to make acquisitions of suppliers in the automotive and truck industries. As previously announced, the Marathon Automotive Group is led by Morris C. Rowlett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Robert E. Eckert, Executive Vice President of Finance; and Mark R. Krupp, Executive Vice President of Operations. The group's senior executive team will partner with CONTECH's experienced management team, led by Mark Hunter, President of CONTECH, to build on the company's leadership position and the existing talent and resources to further grow the business.

"We are excited to begin working with CONTECH's experienced management team to build upon the company's tradition of industry leadership," said Wray Thorn, Managing Director of Marathon's Private Equity group. "With the support of the Marathon Automotive Group and its senior leadership team, CONTECH will work to capitalize on its current and future growth opportunities and to utilize Marathon's ongoing capital support to take advantage of the many business opportunities in the automotive and truck industries, particularly at a time when many companies in these sectors are lacking access to capital."

CONTECH is a leading light metals die casting and machining company that develops proprietary and innovative metal-forming process technologies, enabling it to offer its automotive industry customers advanced product solutions with a superior value proposition. The company has one of the widest ranges of die cast process technologies in the industry and its unique technologies and capabilities, coupled with a value selling approach, have enabled CONTECH to reach its position as a leader in the industry. In addition to its leadership position in complex, lightweight cast products, CONTECH manufactures steel-forged automotive components and has begun to use its steel tube fabrication capabilities to penetrate new, high-growth niche applications in the heavy and medium duty truck markets.