The Oilgear Company Acquired by Mason Wells

The Oilgear Company, Milwaukee Wis., announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by Mason Wells Buyout Fund II, Limited Partnership, an affiliate of the Milwaukee-based private equity firm Mason Wells. The proposed merger is expected to be completed by the end of 2006, subject to approval by Oilgear's shareholders and other customer closing conditions.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, each outstanding share of Oilgear's common stock will be converted into $15.25. Oilgear currently has 2,039,034 shares of common stock outstanding.

"We believe this transaction will greatly benefit our shareholders, employees, and customers," said David Zuege, Oilgear's president and chief executive officer. "The challenges of being a public company of our size have made it increasingly difficult for us to achieve our growth potential in today's very competitive global fluid power marketplace. With the financial strength and resources of the Mason Wells team, the company will be able to expand our range of products and continue to provide creative solutions for our customers' fluid power applications."

The Milwaukee Business Journal reported that Zuege would receive a lump sum payout of more than $490,000 under an amendment to the company's change of control agreement. When the deal closes, Richard Armbrust will serve as company president. Armbrust has extensive managerial leadership experience, serving for the past 15 years as chief executive officer or division president for a variety of companies, including ABB, Inc. and Invensys PLC.