Bethesda, MD -- American Capital Strategies, Ltd. (Nasdaq:ACAS) announced today that Kenneth D. Peterson Jr., CEO of Columbia Ventures Corporation, has been elected to its Board of Directors, effective immediately, and that Stephen Walko has resigned his board seat.
"Ken Peterson has started or acquired 15 companies over the past 15 years, reaping extraordinary returns," said American Capital Chairman and CEO Malon Wilkus. "He has an outstanding track record as an entrepreneur, and we look forward to his contribution to our Board. At the same time, we will miss Steve Walko. He made substantial contributions to the performance of our Board; we wish him well in his future endeavors."
Mr. Peterson founded the Columbia Aluminum Corporation in 1987, where he implemented a substantial Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Columbia Aluminum represented approximately 4% of U.S. aluminum production capacity. He later established the Columbia Ventures Corporation (CVC) as a means to purchase a series of extrusion plants, and later branched into window manufacturing and recycling. After divesting Columbia Aluminum Corporation in 1996, he founded Nordural hf, an Icelandic corporation and subsidiary of CVC, in order to develop a greenfield aluminum smelter in Iceland that currently produces 60,000 tons of aluminum per year, with plans to expand this year to 90,000 tons. He is a member of the board of directors of International Aluminum Corporation (NYSE: IAL) and of the Washington Institute Foundation. Mr. Peterson holds an undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a law degree from Willamette University College of Law. He has attended the Advanced Executive Program of the University of California at Los Angeles.
American Capital is a publicly traded buyout and mezzanine fund. American Capital is an equity partner in management and employee buyouts; invests in debt and equity of companies led by private equity firms, and provides capital directly to private and small public companies. American Capital funds growth, acquisitions and recapitalizations.
Companies interested in learning more about American Capital's flexible financing and ability to provide senior debt, subordinated debt and equity should contact Mark Opel, Principal, at (800) 248-9340, or visit our website.This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements regarding expected results of American Capital Strategies are subject to various factors and uncertainties, including the uncertainties associated with the timing of transaction closings, changes in interest rates, availability of transactions, changes in regional or national economic conditions, or changes in the conditions of the industries in which American Capital has made investments.
