Camoplast Completes U.S. Acquisition and Refinancing

Camoplast Inc. acquired, on December 30, 2002, the rubber-belted track components business and assets of the ETS division of U.S.-based Caterpillar Inc. Camoplast designs, develops, manufactures and assembles rubber tracks, exterior body panels, under-the-hood plastic components and assemblies. The value of the deal is undisclosed.

In the acquisition, Camoplast was represented by Jacques Paquin, Catherine Conides, Odette Nadon, Patrick Théorêt, Sophie Picard, Veronik Bonneville-Pesant and Jean-Sébastien Desroches of Desjardins Ducharme Stein Monast, assisted by Harvey Sorensen, Scott Palecki and David Traster of Foulston Siefkin LLP in Kansas, on U.S. matters. Caterpillar was represented in-house by Hank Ames, Estella Vallejo, Tim Callanan, Steve Hanley, Peter Lasorsa and Dennis Skarvan, legal department, and in Canada, by Ian Binnie and Yannick Beaudoin of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.

Concurrently with the acquisition, Camoplast entered into a credit agreement with a syndicate of lenders led by CIBC, and including National Bank of Canada. Camoplast also completed a private placement of shares pursuant to a subscription agreement among Camoplast and Desjardins Venture Capital Group through Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins, ID, Société en commandite and the Fonds d’investissement Desjardins de l’Estrie Inc., as well as Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (the investors).

Camoplast was represented in the financing by Jacques Paquin, Martin Rolland, Catherine Papineau, Johanne Bérubé and Brigitte Gauthier of Desjardins Ducharme Stein Monast, assisted by Cynthia Kaiser of Richards, Layton & Finger P.A. in Delaware, and David Stewart and Maurice Chiasson of Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales in Nova Scotia.

The lenders were represented by McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Montreal, with a team that included J. Michel Deschamps, Louis-Martin Dubé and Richard O’Doherty, assisted by Michael Clain of Brauner Baron Rosenzweig & Klein LLP in New York. The investors were also represented by McCarthy Tétrault in Montreal, with a team that included André Goyer, Marie-France Gagnon and Pierre Nicol.