Universal paid approximately $15 million in cash for IEW, which amount
includes the concurrent discharge of IEW's indebtedness and operating lease
financing. IEW adds to Universal's fleet approximately 26,000 aggregate
horsepower of high quality compression equipment, almost all of which is
located in the Gulf of Mexico. IEW has an offshore sales and service business
in addition to its rental fleet. For the audited fiscal year ended
September 30, 2000, IEW had approximately $19.5 million in revenue and earned
approximately $2.2 million in EBITDA (net income plus income taxes, interest
expense, leasing expense, depreciation and amortization, excluding
non-recurring items and extraordinary gains or losses).
"The addition of IEW gives us an improved ability to meet customers'
compression needs in the Gulf of Mexico, which is becoming a more important
market for us," said Stephen A. Snider, Universal's President and CEO. "We
believe the people and equipment we've added to Universal in this acquisition,
as well as the new customers IEW brings, will help us to reach the goals we
have set, which include disciplined growth, broadening of our market scope,
and improvement of our operating leverage."
Universal is headquartered in Houston, Texas and is the second largest
natural gas compression services company in the world in terms of horsepower.
The company provides a full range of rental, sales, operations, maintenance
and fabrication services and products to the domestic and international
natural gas industry.
Statements about Universal's outlook and all other statements in this
release other than historical facts are forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future
events and are subject to a number of uncertainties and factors, many of which
are out of Universal's control, that could cause actual results to differ
materially from such statements. While Universal believes that its
assumptions concerning future events are reasonable, it cautions that there
are inherent difficulties in predicting certain important factors that could
impact future performance and the successful integration of the business.
Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the integration
of acquired businesses (including IEW and recently acquired Weatherford
Global), future financial and operational results, competition, general
economic conditions and demand for natural gas, ability to manage and continue
growth, and risks associated with international operations. These factors are
discussed in more detail in Universal's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, copies of which are available to the public. Universal
disclaims any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise.
SOURCE Universal Compression Holdings, Inc.
CONTACT: Jeffrey Todd, Manager-Investor Relations, Universal Compression Holdings, Inc., 713-335-7464