Chicago, Illinois - On November 3, 2003, Code Hennessy & Simmons II L.P. completed the sale of Stronghaven, Inc., a - portfolio company since 1996. Stronghaven was sold to TransOcean Capital, Inc., a Boston-based private equity firm. The sale resulted in a realized gain for Fund II. CHS Fund II was formed in 1994 and has completed 17 platform investments and 23 add-on acquisitions. Value in these companies has been substantially realized resulting in top-quartile performance for Fund II.

Stronghaven, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is a leading non-integrated manufacturer of corrugated containers serving primarily the Southeastern United States. The Company operates four corrugated container plants located in Greensboro and Charlotte, North Carolina, Jacksonville, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia. Stronghaven serves customers who demand short-run, customized corrugated products with graphics-intensive, value-added features.

According to David O. Hawkins, a Managing Director at Code Hennessy & Simmons LLC, “Stronghaven performed remarkably well throughout a difficult economic period due to the hard work of the Company’s high-caliber management team.”

Doug Johnston, Chief Executive Officer of Stronghaven remarked, “Stronghaven has benefited tremendously from the strong, collaborative relationship that exists between our management and the CHS team. We jointly set operational and financial goals, and we worked seamlessly to successfully reach those goals.”

Founded in 1988, Code Hennessy & Simmons LLC is a Chicago-based private equity firm that manages approximately $1.5 billion of capital in four funds. CHS focuses on building shareholder value in middle market companies through strong relationships with management teams and sound investment strategies.