NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Empeiria Acquisition Corp. (OTC BB: EPAQ; EPAQW; EPAQU) (“EAC” or the “Company”) today announced that it has closed its previously announced business combination with Integrated Drilling Equipment Company Holdings Inc. (“IDE”) pursuant to which, IDE merged with and into IDE Acquisition Co., LLC (“Merger Sub”), with Merger Sub surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of EAC. Merger Sub will be renamed Integrated Drilling Equipment Company Holdings, LLC in connection with the merger.

Alan B. Menkes, the former Chief Executive Officer of EAC and Director of the combined Company, commented, “This transaction is a milestone for EAC. We are very excited to start working together with IDE’s team to pursue growth opportunities organically and through strategic acquisitions.”

Stephen Cope, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IDE, and newly appointed Chief Executive Officer and Director of the combined company, said, “We are very pleased with the closing of the merger with EAC and look forward to becoming a publicly-traded company. We believe the fragmented nature and attractive valuations in our industry make this is an opportune time to pursue acquisitions in the oilfield services and equipment sector. By merging with EAC, we not only leverage a public company platform to increase access to capital, but we also gain EAC’s transactional expertise to help us take advantage of opportunities in our space.”

Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., LLC and The PrinceRidge Group LLC acted as advisors to EAC while TerraNova Capital Partners acted as advisor to IDE. Jones Day acted as legal advisor to EAC.

About IDE

Integrated Drilling Equipment Company Holdings Inc. (“IDE”) and its predecessor companies have been active in providing services and products to the drilling industry since 1981. IDE’s principal service and product offerings consist of the construction of new land rigs based on IDE designs or customized to customers’ specifications; providing extensive reconfiguration and refurbishment services for land rigs to repair and extend their life or to adapt them for different drilling environments; providing offshore rig upgrade packages, refurbishment services, and related components for offshore newbuild rigs; supplying integrated electrical systems and control systems for a wide range of land and offshore drilling rigs; and providing engineered hydraulic rig solutions.

For more information on IDE, please visit: http://www.ide-rig.com/

About EAC

EAC was formed on January 24, 2011 for the purpose of acquiring one or more operating business or assets through a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, exchangeable share transaction or other similar business transaction (an “initial business transaction”). The merger with IDE constituted EAC’s initial business transaction.

Forward-Looking Statements

In addition to historical information, this release may contain a number of “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” and words and terms of similar substance used in connection with any discussion of future plans, actions, or events identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relating to the proposed transaction include, but are not limited to: statements about the benefits of the merger; the combined company’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions; and other statements relating to the transaction that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, expectations and projections and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that actual results will not materially differ from expectations. Important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Additional risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in EAC’s reports filed with the SEC and available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements included in this release speak only as of the date of this release. EAC undertakes no obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.

Contacts:

Alan B. Menkes
Empeiria Acquisition Corp
212-887-1126

OR

KCSA Strategic Communications
Rob Fink / Brad Nelson
212.896.1206 / 212.896.1217
rfink@kcsa.com / bnelson@kcsa.com

SOURCE Empeiria Acquisition Corp.