– Veteran Turnaround Investment Firm Set to Undertake
Phased Growth Plan for Company –
SANTA BARBARA, CA and SADDLE RIVER, NJ – April 30, 2009 – Synergy Enterprises, LLC (“Synergy”), a private investment and management advisory services firm, today announced the acquisition of Saddle River, NJ-based AmerTac, a leading designer, marketer and distributor of innovative and trend-right electrical, decorative and under cabinet lighting, decorative and functional hardware and lawn and garden products. AmerTac was purchased from Heritage Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on partnering with family and founder-owned businesses. Financial terms of the transaction, which was completed today, were not disclosed.
Under the terms of the transaction, Gary Nacht, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Synergy Enterprises, has also assumed the roles of Chairman and CEO of AmerTac, effective immediately. Sal Mirra will continue in his role as Chief Financial Officer of the company, and the core of the executive management team will remain unchanged, with some additional senior industry veterans recruited through Synergy Enterprises expected to join AmerTac’s leadership group shortly.
Founded nearly 70 years ago, AmerTac today enjoys leading market positions across six product categories – night lights/specialty lights, wallplates, decorative hardware, under cabinet lighting, lighting controls/dimmers and lawn & garden products – and sells through the big box home center, mass merchandiser, hardware store and lighting showroom retail channels across the United States and Canada.
Gary A. Nacht, Chairman and CEO of Synergy Enterprises and AmerTac, said, “It is a pleasure to invest in AmerTac, a company whose market position and potential I have long admired. In the near-term, I will be working closely with Sal Mirra and the rest of the AmerTac leadership team to ensure a smooth and seamless transition for the company, its employees, customers and business partners. Looking beyond the transition process, I am excited about the potential to create significant value at AmerTac, and we have already begun laying the groundwork to execute on our plans. As we move forward, we will be guided by our foremost commitment to create strong and profitable growth for AmerTac. We will do so through a phased turnaround strategy that will combine adding new product categories and exploring acquisition and branding opportunities, while closely controlling operating expenses. Taken together, we believe that our strategy will build on the solid foundation already in place at AmerTac, and open up a new chapter of opportunities in this company’s history.”
About Synergy Enterprises, LLC
Synergy Enterprises, LLC. is a private investment and management advisory services firm specializing in acquiring underperforming retail, manufacturing and distribution companies, primarily in the consumer products and apparel industries. Headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, the firm was founded by Chairman and CEO Gary A. Nacht, a 25-year veteran of corporate acquisitions whose track record includes such companies as Kmart Canada Ltd., Gemini Industries, Northern Reflections and Digital Products International.