American Securities Opportunities Fund Closes $300 Million Distressed Debt Fund.

NEW YORK -- American Securities Opportunities Fund ("ASOF"), an affiliate of American Securities, today announced the closing of a new fund with more than $300 million of committed capital.

ASOF invests in public or private companies experiencing operating or financial stress as well as other challenges that may be solved with an injection of appropriate resources. Investing in these companies that are either in financial distress or trading at discounted levels, ASOF invests in securities throughout a company's capital structure including bank debt, high-yield bonds, trade claims and equity securities.

The ASOF team includes nine professionals based in New York and is headed by Anthony Grillo, who rejoined American Securities in 2005 to establish ASOF and, before that, was senior managing director and founder of Evercore Partners' Restructuring Advisory Group. Prior to Evercore, he was senior managing director and partner of Joseph Littlejohn & Levy, and senior managing director and partner of The Blackstone Group where he co-founded its Restructuring Advisory Group. Tony and his partners, John P. Fitzsimons and Lawrence A. First, each have more than 20 years experience in the distressed arena. John Fitzsimons joined ASOF in 2006 as a managing director and COO and was also previously with Evercore's Restructuring Group. Larry First was formerly a managing director and co-portfolio manager in Merrill Lynch's Principal Credit Group.

In commenting on the closing of the fund, Tony Grillo said, "With the re-pricing of risk and the tightening of the credit markets, the number of opportunities to make timely and significant investments have increased dramatically. The high amounts of leverage, weakened balance sheets and credit markets have resulted in increased defaults and restructurings, offering us the ability to make exceptional investments with prudent risk profiles."

Michael Fisch, President & CEO of American Securities, said, "We foresaw a time when people would realize that the excessive loans that were made to some companies by banks and other lenders in the 2005-2007 period would need to be restructured as operating problems occurred and/or the growth plans were not realized. We wanted to be ready to invest in the opportunities this created and are delighted to congratulate Tony, John and Larry on the closing of this fund. We look forward to their success investing it."

About American Securities Opportunities Fund

The American Securities Opportunities Fund invests in public or private companies experiencing operating or financial stress as well as other challenges that may be solved with an injection of appropriate resources. The Fund was formed in 2006 in anticipation of an increase in supply of distressed investment opportunities with up to $300 million of capital commitments available. The Fund works in collaboration with American Securities, and is led by a separate investment team with over 50 years of collective experience in distressed investing, public and private debt equity investing and business restructuring. More information about American Securities Opportunities Fund can be found at www.american-securities.com/opportunities-fund.html.

About American Securities

Headquartered in New York with an office in Shanghai, American Securities is a leading U.S. middle-market private equity firm that invests in market-leading North American companies with annual revenues generally ranging from $100 million to $1 billion. American Securities just closed its fifth, unprecedented 25-year fund of more than $2.3 billion and now has approximately $6 billion under management. The firm traces its roots to the family office founded in 1947 by William Rosenwald to invest and manage his share of the Sears, Roebuck & Co. fortune. More information about American Securities can be found at www.american-securities.com.