KKR to Acquire Winoa Group, Terms Not Disclosed

A consortium led by KKR Asset Management (“KAM”), a leading sub-investment grade manager that is wholly owned by KKR

today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Winoa Group from LBO France. The acquisition facilitates a recapitalization of the business through a significant reduction of the debt and access to new money for growth. Winoa Group, formerly Wheelabrator Allevard, is a world leader in abrasion and cutting technologies for the metal and stone industries. Founded in 1961 in France, Winoa offers its customers around the world high performance, cost effective and environmentally friendly solutions for the surface transformation of their products. The company has 12 operational plants on four continents, employs over 1000 staff and has 10,000 direct customers worldwide. The investment by KKR has been made through investment funds managed by KAM Special Situations, which makes strategic, long-term investments in good companies whose capital structure is under pressure and whereby resources are provided to build a sustainable capital structure and improve operations with a focus on growth. The closing of this transaction remains subject to approval by the authorities.