RV honcho back in driver's seat.Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard In August, Country Coach founder Bob Lee unhappily ended his affiliation with the company he started 33 years ago, saying its parent corporation was on the road to ruin. On Tuesday, Lee jumped back in the RV game, joining with a New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of equity firm to acquire a Yakima manufacturer, Western Recreational Vehicles Inc. "I was getting bored," the 67-year-old Junction City Junction City, city (1990 pop. 20,604), seat of Geary co., NE Kans., at the confluence of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers; inc. 1859. The rail, trade, and processing center of an agricultural and dairy area, it grew as the supply point for nearby Fort Riley, resident said from the National RV Trade Show in Louisville, Ky., where the deal was announced. "What's to enjoy about sitting in a rocking chair?" Lee's partner in the Yakima deal is Monomoy Capital Partners, a New York private equity fund founded in 2005. The company specializes in buying middle-market manufacturers that require operational or financial restructuring restructuring - The transformation from one representation form to another at the same relative abstraction level, while preserving the subject system's external behaviour (functionality and semantics). . Terms of the deal were not disclosed, nor was Lee's stake in the company. Lee's title will be chairman of the board. His role will be developing strategies, re-establishing the dealer network and updating the product, said Philip Von Burg, a Monomoy principal. He'll also be working on "strategies for acquisitions," Von Burg said. Asked if the new ownership was interested in acquiring Lee's old company, Country Coach, Von Burg said, "A lot of us would like to acquire that. ... There are a lot of opportunities for us in the market. We have to look at it from a price point standpoint and an operational fit." Though he's no longer on the National R.V. board, Lee is the fifth-largest shareholder in National R.V., with 577,906 shares, or 5.6 percent. Country Coach is part of National R.V. Western RV in Yakima is a family-owned, 36-year-old manufacturer of high-end RVs that fall in the "premium" segment of the market. The company makes Class A motor homes under the Alpine Coach brand, and Alpenlite fifth wheels and truck campers In North America the term truck camper and its derived acronym, TC, are generally used to refer to any recreational vehicle or RV that may be carried in the bed of a pickup truck. In North America, this RV type is sometimes known as a slide-in or cab-over. . The company has struggled of late, beset be·set tr.v. be·set, be·set·ting, be·sets 1. To attack from all sides. 2. To trouble persistently; harass. See Synonyms at attack. 3. in the past year by a plant fire, the loss of a major customer and the general downturn in the RV industry, Von Burg said. The company once had more than 550 employees, but today has just 250. "They're a relatively small player in terms of market share and size, but they have a strong reputation," said Richard Fish, a Monomoy partner who will serve as the company's chief restructuring officer. Lee has a wealth of experience in the RV industry. He founded Country Camper in 1973 with two employees out of a 2,000-square-foot building in Junction City.. By the early 1990s, the company had become a national player in the luxury motor coach market. In 1996, Lee sold Country Coach to Perris, Calif.-based National R.V. Holdings National R.V. Holdings (NYSE:NVH) is a company from the north of Perris, California, that makes recreational vehicles. The company is divided into two subsidiaries: National R.V., Inc., (diesel and gasoline RVs), and Country Coach, Inc. (diesel RVs only). Inc. for $9 million in stock and the assumption of $10.1 million in Country Coach debt. Lee stayed on as CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. after the sale. He retired in 2000, but returned in 2002 to turn around the Country Coach division. He stepped down as CEO in 2004 and continued as a paid consultant until May 2005. He served on the corporate board of National R.V. from 1998 and watched in recent years as the parent company struggled, posting red ink red ink Health administration A popular term for financial losses. Cf in the Black. in 17 of the past 21 quarters. In November 2005, Lee and Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. investment banker Investment Banker A person representing a financial institution that is in the business of raising capital for corporations and municipalities. Notes: An investment banker may not accept deposits or make commercial loans. Bryant Riley launched an unsuccessful bid to buy National R.V. In August, Lee resigned from the National R.V. board, saying the company's leaders had refused to deal with "the ongoing crisis" that "threatens the very future of this company," and that it was time for CEO Brad Albrechtsen to resign. |
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