KPS Capital Partners Agrees To Acquire Substantially All Of The Assets Of Briggs & Stratton Corporation, Including Equity Of Foreign Subsidiaries - Seite 2

Further, Wells Fargo has agreed to continue to provide floorplan financing to support Briggs & Stratton's customers under KPS' ownership, and a syndicate of banks including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, BMO Harris Bank and PNC Business Credit has committed to provide exit financing to Briggs & Stratton.  The financings are subject to completion of the acquisition and customary closing conditions. 

Michael Psaros, Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of KPS, said, "We are very excited to acquire Briggs & Stratton, a legendary brand in American manufacturing and the leading company in its industry.  Briggs & Stratton enjoys a leading market position, scale, a global manufacturing footprint, world-class design and engineering capabilities, and a portfolio of industry-leading products sold under iconic brand names.  We intend to capitalize on the Company's many attractive growth opportunities and to support its already substantial investment in research and development, technology and new product development. KPS intends to grow the new Briggs & Stratton aggressively through strategic acquisitions.

"KPS is committed to the expeditious acquisition of Briggs & Stratton to provide certainty of outcome and confidence in the new Company's future for all of its stakeholders, including customers, employees and suppliers.  The Company and its stakeholders will benefit from KPS' demonstrated commitment to manufacturing excellence, continuous improvement, global network, access to capital and significant financial resources.  The new Briggs & Stratton will be conservatively capitalized and not encumbered by its predecessor's significant liabilities. 

"We thank the United Steelworkers of America for its support of our acquisition of the Company. "We have expended an enormous amount of effort, resources and capital on this process to date. We are confident that all of the conditions necessary to create a new thriving going concern enterprise are in place," Mr. Psaros concluded.  

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal counsel to KPS with respect to the transaction.

About Briggs & Stratton Corporation
Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE: BGG), headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is focused on providing power to get work done and make people's lives better.  Briggs & Stratton is the world's largest producer of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment, and is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of power generation, pressure washer, lawn and garden, turf care and job site products through its Briggs & Stratton, Simplicity, Snapper, Ferris, Vanguard, Allmand, Billy Goat, Murray, Branco and Victa brands.  Briggs & Stratton products are designed, manufactured, marketed and serviced in over 100 countries on six continents. For additional information, please visit www.basco.com and www.briggsandstratton.com.