NEWS RELEASE
CONTACT:
Karen L. Howard
Vice President, Treasurer and Interim Chief Financial Officer
Columbus McKinnon Corporation
Phone: 716-689-5550
karen.howard@cmworks.com
COLUMBUS MCKINNON CORPORATION ANNOUNCES RECEIPT OF
TENDERS AND CONSENTS OF SENIOR NOTES
Amherst, New York, August 16, 2005--Columbus McKinnon Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCO)
announced today that it has received tenders and consents for approximately 82%
of the principal amount outstanding of its 8 1/2% Senior Subordinated Notes Due
2008 (the "Notes") as of August 15, 2005. The percentage of consents received
exceeds the required consents it needed to amend the Indenture.
The Notes were tendered by the holders pursuant to the Company's Offer to
Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement (the "Offer to Purchase") that was
announced on August 5, 2005. The Offer to Purchase fully describes the terms and
conditions of the cash tender offer by the Company to purchase any and all of
the $142,400,000 outstanding principal amount of the Notes. It also describes
the terms and conditions of the solicitation for the consent of the Note holders
to eliminate substantially all of the restrictive and reporting covenants,
certain events of default and certain other provisions contained in the
indenture governing the notes (the "Tender Offer and Consent Solicitation").
Columbus McKinnon's obligation to accept for purchase and to pay the purchase
price and consent payment for the Notes in the Tender Offer and Consent
Solicitation is subject to certain conditions, including, but not limited to,
the Company's placement of approximately $136,000,000 of senior subordinated
notes, the receipt of tenders and consents from the holders of at least a
majority of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes by the Consent Date and
the execution of a supplemental indenture to each of the indentures governing
such notes. As of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on August 15, 2005, the Company
had received tenders and consents for at least a majority of the aggregate
principal amount of the Notes then outstanding.
As a result of the receipt of the requisite consents of the Note Holders by the
Consent date, which was 5:00 p.m. New York Time on August 15, 2005, Columbus
McKinnon and the U.S. Bank Trust National Association, formerly State Street
Bank and Trust Company, N.A., the trustee under the indenture pursuant to which
the Notes were issued (the "Indenture"), will execute a supplemental indenture
to the Indenture. The supplemental indenture will address the proposed
amendments to the Notes and the Indenture, as discussed in the Offer to
Purchase. However, the amendments will not become operative with respect to the
Notes and the Indenture until the Notes are accepted for purchase by the
Company.
Credit Suisse First Boston is acting as dealer manager and solicitation agent
for the Tender Offer and Consent Solicitation. The information agent is D.F.
King & Co., Inc. and the Depositary is U.S. Bank Trust National Association.
Questions regarding the Tender Offer and Consent Solicitation or requests for
additional copies of the Offers to Purchase and related documents may be
directed to Credit Suisse First Boston's Liability Management Group by telephone
at (800) 820-1653 (toll free) or (212) 325-7596 (call collect).
This announcement is not an offer to purchase, a solicitation of an offer to
purchase or a solicitation of consent with respect to any securities. The tender
offers and consent solicitations are being made solely by the Offer to Purchase
and Consent Solicitation Statements dated August 5, 2005.
ABOUT COLUMBUS MCKINNON
Columbus McKinnon Corporation is a leading worldwide designer, manufacturer and
marketer of material handling products, systems and services, which efficiently
and ergonomically move, lift, position or secure material. Key products include
hoists, cranes, chain and forged attachments. The Company is focused on
commercial and industrial applications that require the safety and quality
provided by its superior design and engineering know-how. Comprehensive
information on Columbus McKinnon is available on its web site at
HTTP://WWW.CMWORKS.COM.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
The information contained in this news release, other than historical
information, consists of forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These
statements may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those described in such statements. Although the
Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will
prove to have been correct.
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