ST. LOUIS, MO—LMI Aerospace, a supplier of structural assemblies, kits and components and provider of design engineering services to the aerospace and defense industries, has agreed to acquire Valent Aerostructures for approximately $237 million, plus approximately $9.7 million of certain retained obligations.

Headquartered in Kansas City, MO, Valent is a leading provider of complex, structural components, major sub-assemblies and machined parts for OEM and Tier 1 airframe manufacturers in the aerospace and defense industries. The company is well-positioned, providing significant content for several major commercial, business jet and military platforms, including the Boeing 737, 747-8, 777, 787, V-22 and Gulfstream G650. Like LMI, Valent has established a reputation as a highly regarded supplier, evidenced by recent awards. The Boeing Company has previously awarded Supplier of the Year to both companies.

In 2011, Valent won a Spirit AeroSystems Platinum Supplier Award and Aviation Partners Boeing awarded Supplier of the Year to LMI.

Assuming the transaction closes in 2012, LMI is expected to generate more than $480 million of revenues based on projected 2013 results of the combined entities. The increased scale, complementary product offerings and enhanced project management capabilities of the consolidated company are expected to drive further growth from existing platforms as well as launch differentiated solutions for key aerospace platforms.

The combined companies are expected to deliver significant benefits to customers, employees and shareholders through more diversified product and services offerings, deeper customer relationships and greater leverage of its extensive manufacturing and supply chain network.

"The acquisition of Valent is transformational for LMI and represents a major step in fulfilling LMI's strategic objectives," says Ronald S.

Saks, CEO of LMI. "Valent provides additional capabilities, which should position LMI for long-term growth and success in what we believe will be a robust aerospace cycle. Another important benefit of this combination is increased content on key platforms. Spirit AeroSystems is Valent's largest customer providing more than 50% of Valent's sales in 2012. The Boeing 737 platform represents most of these sales. As a result, over 47% of Valent's projected 2013 revenue is expected to be derived from work on the highly desirable Boeing 737 platform. When combined with the Boeing

737 products currently built by LMI, the annual shipset value of the Boeing 737 model is expected to be approximately $240 thousand in 2012.

In addition, we believe Valent's assembly and machining capabilities will allow LMI to compete for larger and more complex design build projects.”