April 4, 2017

New York, NY – Race Winning Brands, Inc. (“Race Winning Brands”, “RWB” or the “Company”), a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, LLC (“Kinderhook”) announced today the acquisition of Diamond Pistons and Trend Performance, two manufacturers of high-performance engine components for the automotive performance market. The acquisition of the Diamond Pistons and Trend Performance brands represents the first add-on acquisition for RWB and Kinderhook’s 45th automotive related transaction. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Mentor, Ohio, Race Winning Brands is a leading manufacturer of performance and racing pistons and related engine components for the automotive and powersports performance markets. The Company markets its products internationally through several highly recognized brands including JE Pistons, Wiseco Performance Products, K1 Technologies, Innovate Motorsports, and ProX Racing Parts.

Based in Clinton, Michigan, Diamond Pistons is a manufacturer of premium high-performance automotive pistons and is a market leading brand that serves a variety of customers across the professional racing and enthusiast markets. Trend Performance, located in Warren, MI, is a leading manufacturer of high-performance internal engine components including pushrods and wrist pins in the United States.

The acquisition of these brands reflects Race Winning Brands’ goal of growing both organically and through acquisitions in the automotive and powersports performance markets. The Company continues to invest in brand development and new product innovation, while evaluating opportunities to expand into adjacent and new product categories.

“This is all about making the Diamond and Trend brands’ product portfolios and customer focused commitment even stronger than it is today.” says Bob Fox, Trend founder and Diamond President. “I am excited to join forces with Race Winning Brands. This move enables us to focus even more energy on serving the evolving needs of today’s racer.”

“Diamond Pistons and Trend Performance have firmly established themselves as trail-blazers in the automotive performance market. We are very excited to welcome Bob Fox and add both businesses to the RWB family while retaining their customer focused strategy that prioritizes speed and innovation. The acquisition of Diamond Pistons and Trend Performance complements RWB’s existing portfolio of brands and accelerates the Company’s commitment to deliver race winning products to its customers.” said RWB CEO, Brian Reese.

Tom Tuttle, Managing Director of Kinderhook Industries, stated, “We are very excited that Diamond Pistons and Trend Performance have joined the Race Winning Brands and Kinderhook families and look forward to executing against our long-term strategic objectives together. The acquisition of these brands further strengthens the RWB platform as the Company continues to expand its portfolio of high-performance products.”

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Race Winning Brands.