TORONTO, Sept. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Wynnchurch Capital (“Wynnchurch”), a
leading middle-market private equity firm, announced today that its
newly formed portfolio company, Heligear Acquisition Holdings Co.
(together with its subsidiaries, the “Company”), has acquired
substantially all of the operating assets of Northstar Aerospace, Inc.
and its subsidiaries (together, “NSA”) through court administered
insolvency proceedings in both the United States and Canada.
Headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Bedford Park, Illinois, the
Company is a leading manufacturer of flight-critical and
non-flight-critical parts for military and commercial aircraft
applications. The Company will continue to operate under the “Northstar
Aerospace” name and employ substantially the entire NSA workforce.
Prior to the acquisition, NSA was publically traded on the Toronto
Stock Exchange (TSX:NSA).

“The message for our customers, suppliers and employees is that
Northstar Aerospace is stronger than ever and we are committed to
working closely with all key constituents to improve service levels and
lower costs for our customers. We are excited and honored to be a key
partner supplier for leading global military aircraft programs,
including the AH-64 Apache Block III, the CH-47 Chinook and the UH-60
Black Hawk. We are proud to be able to support our customers and
warfighters around the world,” said Dave McConnaughey, the Company’s
new President and CEO.

Terry Theodore, Partner with Wynnchurch, said, “Northstar is a leader
and innovator in the aerospace industry and has a decades-old
reputation for providing the highest quality products to its customers.
We look forward to partnering with Dave McConnaughey and the rest of
the Northstar management team to continue driving improvements in the
business.” Ian Kirson, Managing Director with Wynnchurch, added, “We
continue to be impressed by Northstar’s leading proprietary
manufacturing technology, dedicated, trained and skilled workforce, as
well as proven product performance and durability. The investment in
Northstar strengthens our position in the Aerospace and Defense sector,
an increasingly attractive sector that requires proven security and
operational controls for the manufacture of high precision military and
commercial aircraft parts.”

The Company recently received confirmation of its role as the single
source supplier of Face Gear transmission components for The Boeing
Company’s AH-64 Apache Block lll program. This program has recently
been approved for full rate production. Also in recent news,
Rolls-Royce announced the renewal of its long standing manufacturing
agreements for the manufacture of precision aircraft gearing for both
military and commercial aircraft. The Company supplies product and
manufacturing support to Rolls-Royce in connection with these renewed
agreements. The Company is also a key supplier to GE Aviation,
Honeywell Aerospace, United Technologies’ Sikorsky Aircraft and other
leading aerospace OEMs.

Senior debt financing to support the acquisition was provided by PNC
Business Credit, a division of PNC Bank, National Association. Alvarez
& Marsal served as transaction advisor to Wynnchurch and Vedder Price
P.C. acted as legal counsel to Wynnchurch and the Company.

About the Company: Headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Bedford Park, Illinois, the
Company is a leading manufacturer of flight-critical and
non-flight-critical parts for military and commercial aircraft
applications. The Company provides a broad base of complex and highly
engineered products including gears, housings, assemblies and shafts
for helicopter transmission systems. The Company has strong, long-term
relationships with key OEMs in the aerospace and defense industry and
enjoys an exclusive position on two key defense helicopter programs.
More information about the Company can be found at: www.nsaero.com.

About Wynnchurch Capital: Wynnchurch Capital, Ltd., headquartered in the Chicago suburb of
Rosemont, Illinois with offices in Dallas, Detroit, and Toronto and an
affiliate office in Montreal, was founded in 1999 and is a leading
middle-market private equity investment firm. Wynnchurch’s strategy is
to partner with middle market companies in the United States and Canada
which have outstanding management teams and possess the potential for
substantial growth and profit improvement. Wynnchurch manages a number
of private equity funds with capital under management in excess of $1
billion specializing in management buyouts, recapitalizations,
corporate carve-outs, restructurings and growth capital. More
information about Wynnchurch can be found at: www.wynnchurch.com.

SOURCE Northstar Aerospace