Norwalk, CT and Munich, Germany – TrueNorth Capital Partners LLC and Altium Capital AG are pleased to announce that an affiliate of Wanzl Metallwarenfabrik GmbH (“Wanzl”), of Leipheim, Germany has acquired The Cari-All Group (“Cari-All”), with headquarters in North Carolina and operations in Quebec and whose brands include Cari-All, Technibilt and Rondi. Together, Cari-All constitutes North America’s largest shopping cart manufacturer. TrueNorth’s subsidiary TNCP, LLC and Altium acted as co-advisors to Wanzl on the transaction. They further partnered on the raise of the senior credit facility to support the transaction and finance the Company going forward from a syndicate co-led by GE Capital Markets and BMO Capital Markets.

Cari-All was acquired in 2005 in a leveraged buyout led by OMERS Administrative Corporation (Toronto) and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (Montréal). In 2006 Wanzl acquired a minority stake in The Cari-All Group in a transaction that was initiated and co-advised by members of the current TrueNorth and Altium deal teams. The transaction was highly complex and involved two continents, three countries and five operating companies. Legal advice on the acquisition and financing was provided to Wanzl by Stikeman Elliott LLP out of its Toronto and Montreal offices.

This acquisition is especially strategic for Wanzl, serving as its formal entrance into the North American market as it brings together Cari-All/Technibilt’s marketing and manufacturing strengths in the retail industry with Wanzl’s world class expertise in engineering, innovative designs and automating work processes to better serve its customers.

“Our goal is to provide the best value-added product in the industry and make sure we satisfy all our customers’ needs,” said Gottfried Wanzl, Managing Director.

The existing North American operations will continue to function as normal from its headquarters in Newton, North Carolina. Michael Marks, who is part of the Wanzl board of Directors, will relocate to Newton to serve as interim President and CEO. Marks’ role will be to ensure a smooth transition between the two companies.

David M. Orfinik, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing in North America for Cari-All, stated: “Both companies have a tradition of commitment to serving customers with the highest quality, competitive pricing and innovative features from around the world. I am excited about the future and the benefits for both our customers and employees alike.”

Dean Miltimore, Managing Director of TrueNorth commented that “….Wanzl is a good example of how a measured, long term corporate strategy results in opportunities that allow a middle-market company to provide a successful global client offering.”

Martin Kuehner, Managing Director of Altium noted “Although Wanzl was quite familiar with Cari-All´s business, the transaction turned out to be quite complex, paralleled by a North American, non recourse debt financing and high time pressure.”

About Wanzl:

Wanzl, a 100 percent family owned company, is Headquartered in Leipheim Germany. Wanzl is the world’s largest manufacturer of shopping carts and other retail systems. Each year, around two million units, in a variety of models, are produced and sold. For decades, the company has continued to develop landmark products for comfortable shopping and selling that have set new standards world-wide. Today, Wanzl has over 4,000 employees in seven production facilities – in Germany, England, France, the Czech Republic and China. Branches and agencies ensure the company’s close proximity to customers, a goal Wanzl has strived to meet since its founding.

About TrueNorth Capital Partners LLC:

TrueNorth Capital Partners, LLC www.truenorthcp.com provides corporate advisory services on mergers and acquisitions and restructurings as well as provides valuations and fairness opinions primarily to middle market companies. Capitalizing on the vast international M&A and restructuring backgrounds of the founders, the firm provides sophisticated financial advice to middle market clients. TrueNorth’s professionals have built their careers and reputations serving this market and understanding its intricacies. Their skills have been evidenced in hundreds of assignments and they have completed those assignments while always remaining true to their core principles: unwavering commitment to our clients’ best interests and the highest standard of service. TrueNorth conducts its securities-related business through its wholly owned subsidiary TNCP, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.

Contacts:
Dean Miltimore
dmiltimore@truenorthcp.com
Nick Chapman
nchapman@truenorthcp.com
203.604.2007

About Altium Capital AG:

Altium Capital AG www.altiumcapital.ch is an independent investment banking partnership with seven offices across continental Europe and the UK providing international investment banking services including M&A, Levereaged/Management Buy-outs, IPO/Public to Private, Structured Finance Advisory and Private Placement of Equity & Debt.

Contacts:
Dr. Martin Kuehner
Martin.Kuehner@altium.de
Axel Bauer
Axel.Bauer@altium.de
+49.89.41312.0