Kelso Place: Kelso Place's portfolio company i2S sells controls division to Carrier Corporation Exit increases performance to 4x

London, Nov 20, 2009 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) --
UTX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Kelso Place Asset Management ("Kelso Place"), the -based private equity firm, announced today that its portfolio company i2S Group Limited ("i2S") has sold its controls division to Carrier Corporation, a unit of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX). Through this sale, Kelso Place has obtained a return on its investment of approximately 4x, and it still retains a majority stake in the remaining data communications business, ITM Communications Limited. Kelso Place was advised by Clearwater Corporate Finance.

i2S is a leading provider of integrated building control and data communication systems, primarily for commercial office buildings and data centres. Employing around 110 people in key locations around the UK, including London, Maidstone, Milton Keynes and Cambridgeshire, i2S has a client base that includes leading names such as Canary Wharf, Fujitsu, HP Enterprise Services, Aviva, Nomura, UBS and Amec.

Kelso Place made its initial investment in i2S in late 2003, when it purchased the business and assets of ARQ Communications Limited from administration and undertook a rapid turnaround of the business.

After stabilising the business and creating a strong platform for growth, Kelso Place worked closely with management to complete four transactions - three acquisitions and one disposal, which have transformed i2S into a high margin, high growth intelligent building and energy control systems company.

Carrier Corp., headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut (U.S.A.), is the world's largest provider of air-conditioning, heating and refrigeration solutions, with a focus on innovation and environmentally sound products and services. Carrier is part of United Technologies Corporation (UTC), a provider of products and services to the aerospace and building systems industries worldwide. UTC businesses include Carrier heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions, Hamilton Sundstrand aerospace systems and industrial products, Otis elevators and escalators, Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines, Sikorsky helicopters, UTC Fire & Security systems and UTC Power fuel cells.

"i2S provides an excellent example of the value that Kelso Place creates. Having taken the business out of administration, we worked closely with management to refine the strategy and then create additional value through tactical acquisitions and their subsequent integration. Together, this has helped transform a low margin loss making business into the high margin, high growth market leader we see today." Philip Weston, Partner of Kelso Place and Chairman of i2S Group, said. "By leveraging our turnaround and corporate finance expertise, we have been able to work alongside management to create far more value than would typically have been the case in a normal turnaround."

Notes to editors:

About Kelso Place Asset Management

Kelso Place Asset Management was founded in 2000. The firm has raised three funds to date and has made a total of eleven investments. Current Kelso Place investments include M86 Security, a global provider of E-mail and Internet security products; Solution1, a communication service provider; Anya Hindmarch, a luxury designer brand; and Smythson of Bond Street, a stationery and leather goods brand.

Kelso Place has also achieved a number of exits including financial recruitment firm Nigel Lynn Associates, which was sold to Premier Recruitment Group in 2005, and Equinox Converged Solutions, which was sold to Apax Partners in 2004. Most recently, in 2007, Kelso Place partially realised its investment in Sepura, a leading global supplier of TETRA radio terminals, via an IPO on the London Stock Exchange. The Kelso Place team includes eight investment professionals, with a broad range of investment, turnaround, operational and financial management skills. Kelso Place Asset Management is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

CONTACT: Nicholas Bastin / Richard Campbell, Kelso Place
Tel: +44 (0)20 7307 5330
WWW: http://www.kelsoplace.com

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