Hunter Wise Securities, LLC Advises in the Acquisition of Bourn & Koch, Inc.

CHICAGO, May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hunter Wise Securities, LLC, and James E. Carroll, Managing Director and Kenneth B. Hoganson, Jr., Managing Director, are pleased to announce that Alleghany Capital Corporation ("ACC"), a subsidiary of Alleghany Corporation (NYSE:Y) ("Alleghany"), has acquired a majority interest in Rockford, Illinois based Bourn & Koch, Inc. ("Bourn & Koch").  Hunter Wise Securities advised Alleghany on the acquisition.

Bourn & Koch, Inc. is a manufacturer and remanufacturer/retrofitter of gear hobbing, gear shaping, gear grinding, vertical turning centers, vertical grinding centers, boring, rotary transfer, multispindle, inspection and specialty machine tools. Bourn & Koch owns brands including Acme, American Tool, Barber Colman, Blanchard, Brown & Sharpe, Bullard, Conomatic, DeVlieg, Fellows, Ferguson, Futuremill, J&L, Mattison, Motch, MWMC, New Britain, Springfield, Rockford Machine Tool, Roto-Tech, and White-Sundstrand. Visit www.bourn-koch.com for additional information about Bourn & Koch.

Both Mr. Carroll & Mr. Hoganson have significant experience working with clients like Alleghany to identify and approach proprietary acquisition opportunities uniquely suited to an overall growth and/or investment strategy.  This proactive approach often uncovers companies with great fundamentals and management that are not currently on the market.  "We tend to develop long term relationships with our buy-side clients, often brought in as trusted advisors in the early planning stages of M&A strategy," said Mr. Hoganson.  "To Ken's point, our early involvement with the client allows us to test a client's strategy against target demographics & sector valuation research ensuring a sufficient number of qualified approachable targets," said Mr. Carroll.

About Alleghany Corporation

Alleghany creates stockholder value through the ownership and management of operating subsidiaries and investments, anchored by a core position in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Alleghany's current operating subsidiaries include: Transatlantic Holdings, Inc., a leading international reinsurance organization headquartered in New York; RSUI Group, Inc., a national underwriter of property and liability specialty insurance coverages; Capitol Transamerica Corporation, an underwriter of property and casualty insurance coverages with a focus on the Midwest and Plains states and a national underwriter of specialty property and casualty and surety insurance coverages; Pacific Compensation Corporation, an underwriter of workers' compensation insurance primarily in California; Alleghany Capital Partners LLC, a limited liability company that manages Alleghany's equity investments, including those held by Alleghany's insurance and reinsurance operating units; and Alleghany Properties LLC, a significant landowner in Sacramento, California.  Visit www.alleghany.com for additional information about Alleghany.

ACC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alleghany that engages in and oversees strategic investments and acquisitions. ACC's current investments include Stranded Oil Resources Corporation, an exploration and production company focused on enhanced oil recovery; ORX Exploration, Inc., a regional oil and gas exploration and production company; Homesite Group Incorporated, a national, full-service, mono-line provider of homeowners insurance; and Article One Partners, the world's largest patent research community.

About Hunter Wise Securities, LLC

Hunter Wise Securities, LLC, is an international FINRA licensed investment bank providing the highest level of corporate financing, merger, acquisition, divestiture and advisory services. The Company's clients include small to medium-sized public companies, as well as large middle market, private businesses. The 40+ Hunter Wise Managing Directors are strategically positioned in 13 offices in the U.S. as well as offices in China and the United Kingdom.

CONTACT:
James E. Carroll
Hunter Wise Securities, LLC
(630) 636-6340
[email protected]

Kenneth B. Hoganson, Jr.
Hunter Wise Securities, LLC
(630) 915-7715
[email protected]

SOURCE Hunter Wise Securities, LLC