Carlyle Considers Rexnord Divestiture Options

The Carlyle Group (USA, privately-held) is reportedly considering divesting its ownership of Rexnord Corp. (USA). Carlyle is an influential private investment banking group based in Washington, DC. Carlyle acquired Rexnord from troubled Invensys plc (UK) in late 2002 for $925 million, $340 million cash and $585 million debt. Rexnord is a diversified manufacturing operation, serving a wide variety of markets. Its bearing manufacturing operations are well-known established brands: Link-Belt Bearing Division, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, manufactures a wide range of automotive and industrial bearings, inserts and mounted units. A second manufacturing location in Clinton, Tennessee produces cylindrical roller bearings. Link-Belt is best known for its industrial bearing inserts and mounted units, including pillow blocks, flange units, plummer blocks and all-stainless units. Link-Belt offers not only ball bearings and cylindrical roller bearings, but also sleeve bearings in babbitt, bronze and cast iron. Rex Bearing, in Downers Grove, Illinois, manufactures three product lines -- Rex mounted roller bearings, Shafer aerospace bearings, and Duralon / Turflite filament bearings. Rex and Shafer bearings are mounted roller bearings, pillow blocks, flange blocks and take-up units which allow for a wide degree of shaft misalignment within the bearing itself. The filament bearings are made of Teflon and carbon fiber. MB Bearings is located in Valparaiso, Indiana. Acquired by Rexnord in 1998, MB manufactures standard and custom precision mounted bearings and inserts -- pillow blocks, flange units, take-up units, flange brackets and hanger units. W.M. Berg, Inc. is located in Rockaway, New York. Berg specializes in manufacturing and distributing miniature precision mechanical components. The Berg miniature bearing line includes ball, roller, needle, nonmetallic, sintered, spherical, thrust and oilless. Sizes range from 3/64" to 1/2". At the time of the acquisition, a Carlyle spokesman told : "Rexnord's bearing operations are an integral part of the company and a critical component to providing power transmission products to the industries served by Rexnord. We view these as premium brands that we expect to grow in the future." The Rexnord acquisition was reportedly made with the intention of keeping it for a relatively short time, until sales recovered and it could be sold at profit or taken public and divested via a stock offering. With 33 manufacturing facilities and almost 6,000 employees, Rexnord is now profitable on yearly sales of over $1 billion, up more than 30% year-on-year. Carlyle will reportedly make its final decision whether to divest Rexnord via sale or IPO by June 2006.