The Keystone Engineering Company was founded in 1905 as a machinery company manufacturing horse shoes, wagon wheels, automotive products, and fabricated metal products. Over the years, the Company expanded and changed its product mix to complex, highly sophisticated aerospace and defense products.

Some of Keystones’ more recent products include spun-formed titanium pressurant and propellant tanks for hydrogen thrusters on commercial space satellites, a large number of components on the Mars Pathfinder, and the large, virtually frictionless bearings on the SLARS (sideways looking advanced Radar Systems) used extensively for global defense. The Company had propriety products on numerous satellite launch systems including the Atlas, Delta and other launch vehicles.

In 1983, Mr. Gabriel Ferrucci acquired Keystone Engineering from members of the founding families. His core strategy was to

modernize the Company’s products and capabilities, which later proved to enable the Company to weather the severe aerospace and defense industry recession that hit California in the early 1990’s.

When Mr. Ferrucci approached BCC Capital Partners, the Company was growing and highly profitable, and had a cadre of highly talented engineers. Due to the Company’s success and excellent reputation, it had been approached by a number of its customers to assist in larger and more sophisticated projects. These projects would require substantial capital and technology investments, as well as hiring a large number of experienced engineering professionals.

Mr. Ferrucci was faced with limited options: forego the business opportunities, bring in outside equity to finance the expansion, or sell to a well-capitalized strategic buyer.

After careful consideration of certain personal objectives and BCC’s assessment of the current market conditions and valuation opportunity, Mr. Ferrucci decided it was time to explore a sale of the Company to a large, well capitalized strategic buyer. Mr. Ferrucci would only entertain selling the Company to a buyer that satisfied a tightly-defined strategic fit. In addition, because of the highly talented and highly marketable employee base and the importance of the Company’s link to its customers, confidentiality had to be protected at all costs.

BCC identified forty nine well-capitalized strategic buyers on a global basis – buyers that would be acceptable to the Seller, the Company’s customers and its employees.

BCC was successful in discreetly contacting the CEO’s of each of the potential strategic buyers, and was able to engage several of these buyers in substantive discussions.

Sundstrand Corporation, a $3 billion aerospace and defense contractor headquartered in Rockford Illinois, emerged as the successful bidder, paying a multiple of revenue in an all-cash purchase, which has yet to be matched in this industry.

BCC Capital was successful in achieving all of the Seller’s objectives and in obtaining a substantial price for the Company under a favorable transaction structure.