Public Press Release (Ramsey, Minnesota)
From BMC Industries, Inc.:
BMC Industries, Inc. (Pink Sheets:BMMI), today announced that the company has concluded a bankruptcy court-supervised process to sell its Vision-Ease Lens business. BMC has received court approval to move forward with the sale of substantially all of the assets of Vision-Ease Lens, and all of the outstanding capital stock of its Vision-Ease foreign subsidiaries, to Insight Equity A.P. X, LP, a Texas-based limited partnership. The transaction, subject to satisfaction of certain closing conditions, is expected to close in September.
"We are pleased to have received court approval to complete the sale of Vision-Ease," stated Douglas C. Hepper, chairman, president and chief executive officer of BMC Industries, Inc. "With the support of new investors and appropriate capital, our efforts to build the Vision-Ease Lens business will accelerate."
"We are excited about our new investment in Vision-Ease Lens," said Ted Beneski, CEO and Managing Partner of Insight Equity Partners, LP. "Vision-Ease has a strong stable of patented products and processes, an experienced management team and strong relationships with its customers and suppliers, which we and our partner The Rosewood Corporation look forward to building on in the years ahead."
Vision-Ease Lens, a leading manufacturer of eyewear lenses, is headquartered in Ramsey, Minn. The company currently employs 1,200 people worldwide with manufacturing facilities in Ramsey and Jakarta, Indonesia.
About BMC Industries: BMC Industries Inc., operating under the Vision-Ease Lens trade name, is a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of polycarbonate and glass eyewear lenses. Vision-Ease Lens also distributes plastic eyewear lenses. Vision-Ease Lens is a technology and a market share leader in the polycarbonate lens segment of the market. Polycarbonate lenses are thinner and lighter than lenses made of other materials, while providing inherent ultraviolet (UV) filtering and impact- resistant characteristics. For more information about Vision-Ease Lens, visit the company's Web site at www.vision-ease.com. BMC is in the late stages of winding down the former operations of its Buckbee-Mears group, which ceased manufacturing earlier this year. In July 2004, the company entered into an agreement to sell the assets of its Buckbee-Mears group to International Electron Devices (USA), LLC, a New York limited liability company, subject to a court-supervised auction process, which is expected to occur in September 2004. For more information about BMC Industries, visit the company's Web site at www.bmcind.com.
About Insight Equity: Insight Equity is a private equity firm that makes investments in strategically viable, middle market, asset intensive companies with significant growth potential. Insight is led by its three partners - Ted Beneski, Ross Gatlin and Victor Vescovo. The firm leverages over half a century of partner value creation experience and a proven business model to create extraordinary operating and financial capability. Its headquarters are in Dallas, Texas. For more information about Insight Equity, visit the company's Web site at www.insightequity.com.
About The Rosewood Corporation: The Rosewood Corporation is a holding company with diversified investment interests. It is wholly owned by the Caroline Hunt Trust Estate and is headquartered in Dallas, TX.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements made in this news release that are not statements of historical fact are intended to be, and are hereby identified as "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Without limiting the foregoing, words such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "project," "intend" and other words of similar expression are meant to identify Forward-Looking Statements. The company cautions readers that such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those projected, including, among other factors: our common stock will be cancelled and almost certainly has no remaining value, which should be considered by anyone contemplating the purchase of our common stock; the ability to close the two Section 363 asset sale transactions currently in process; our ability to successfully develop, prosecute, confirm and consummate a plan of reorganization, emerge from bankruptcy as a going concern and avoid liquidation under the Federal Bankruptcy Code; our ability to operate pursuant to the terms of our debtor-in-possession financing; our ability to obtain remaining necessary Bankruptcy Court approvals and to obtain the support of all required stakeholders of the company for a plan of reorganization; our ability to offset the negative effects that the filing for reorganization under Chapter 11 has had, or may have, on our business, management, employees, results of operations and liquidity including constraints placed on available capital; our ability to obtain and maintain adequate terms with vendors and service providers and to maintain contracts that are critical to our operations; and adverse changes in general economic and competitive conditions and other business uncertainties, including factors discussed in more detail in BMC's previous filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date when made and BMC undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events occurring after the date of this news release.