Summit Materials Announces Acquisition of Hinkle Contracting Company

February 01, 2010

February 01, 2010

Company based in Paris, Kentucky will be Summit’s Second Regional Platform

Washington, DC– Summit Materials announces the acquisition of Hinkle Contracting Company based in Paris, Kentucky, which will form the second regional platform for Summit Materials following its first platform acquisition of Hamm, Inc. in September of 2009.    Hinkle Contracting is an aggregates, asphalt, paving, concrete block and construction company which was founded by the Hinkle family over 65 years ago.  The company operates 12 aggregate and 17 asphalt facilities and has over 250 million tons of limestone reserves.  Hinkle Contracting’s existing management team will remain with the company.

Summit Materials was formed in 2009 to develop a leading business in the aggregates and heavy-side building materials sector through strategic acquisitions.  Summit Materials was founded by its CEO Tom Hill and a group of investors that include members of its management team, Blackstone Capital Partners (an affiliate of The Blackstone Group), Silverhawk Capital Partners and Charles “Chip” Goodyear, former CEO of BHP Billiton.  The investors have made a commitment to Summit Materials of up to $780 million.  Tom Hill is the former CEO of Oldcastle Inc., the $14 billion US division of CRH, plc.  In September 2009 Summit acquired Hamm, Inc., a privately-held aggregates, landfill, asphalt and construction company located in Perry, Kansas.  Hamm was Summit Materials’ first regional platform and Hamm’s existing management team, led by Rod Hamm, remain in their roles.

Commenting on the acquisition of Hinkle Contracting Company, Summit Materials CEO Tom Hill said “We are very excited about teaming up with Hinkle Contracting and its first class management team under the leadership of Henry and Tom Hinkle. Hinkle Contracting is the leading heavy building materials business in Kentucky and is an ideal regional platform from which to develop further in Kentucky and surrounding states.”

Neil Simpkins, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, added “This is a superb second platform for Summit Materials and is a significant step in building Summit into a leading heavy-side building materials company.  Tom and his team’s relationships in the industry, developed over several decades, continue to produce attractive deals.  We believe that the US heavy-side building materials sector represents significant opportunities for growth and that Summit Materials is an excellent platform from which to pursue such opportunities.”

Financing for Summit Materials’ acquisition of Hinkle and a refinancing of existing Hamm facilities was accomplished through a new Senior Secured Credit Facility and a Revolving Credit Facility. Citigroup, UBS and Jeffries Finance acted as joint bookrunners and joint lead arrangers for the Senior Secured Credit Facilities; Citigroup also serves as administrative agent.

About Summit Materials

Summit Materials was formed in early 2009 to acquire and grow companies in the aggregates and heavy-side building materials industry.  Its office is located in Washington DC.  Further information about Summit Materials is available at www.summit-materials.com

About The Blackstone Group

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) is one of the world’s leading investment and advisory firms with total fee-earning assets under management of over $90 billion. Blackstone seeks to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies it invests in, the companies it advises and the broader global economy.  Blackstone’s alternative asset management businesses include the management of private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge funds, funds of funds, debt funds, collateralized loan obligation vehicles (CLOs) and closed-end mutual funds. The Blackstone Group also provides various financial advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advisory, restructuring and reorganization advisory and fund placement service. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com.

About Silverhawk Capital Partners

Silverhawk is an independent investment group established in 2005, to invest in management buyouts and other private equity transactions in the Industrial, Energy/Natural Resources and Business Service sectors. The partners of Silverhawk have invested as a team and operated businesses since 1989. Further information is available at www.silverhawkcapitalpartners.com

Media Contacts:

For Summit Materials:
Michael Brady
202-339-9509

For Blackstone:
Christine Andreson
212-583-5263

For Silverhawk:
Matt Sheehy
203-861-2905