A majority share in the Oregon-based international manufacturer of doors and windows Jeld-Wen has been purchased by a Canadian company for at least $864 million.

Toronto-based Onex Corp., today announced plans to purchase a 58 percent stake in the Klamath Falls-founded company and take over half of its board seats. While the company will retain current CEO Rod Wendt, son of Jeld-Wen founder Richard Wendt, it will give the title of president to Philip Orsino, Onex’s building products industrial partner. Orison will have broad oversight of global operations for the company.

“Our investment thesis for this proprietary opportunity has not changed,” said Anthony Munk, managing director at Onex, in a statement. “We believe Jeld-Wen is very well positioned to take advantage of the eventual recovery in global housing markets given its competitive position and well-known brands in markets around the world.”

In May Onex made plans to purchase a 39 percent ownership interest in the company for $475 million but has now decided to take majority ownership. According to the release, the Jeld-Wen’s corporate culture will remain firmly rooted and intact and the company will continue as a private company headquartered in Klamath Falls.

Onex is an investment firm that manages investment platforms focused on private equity, credit securities and real estate. In total, the company manages approximately $14 billion, of which $9 billion is third-party capital. Onex also invests its own capital directly and as a substantial limited partner in each of its funds.

The company trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange as OCX.

The deal is expected to close sometime in the third quarter of this year after receiving regulatory approval.

The post Jeld-Wen control purchased by Canadian investment firm appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

One of Oregon’s largest companies, Jeld-Wen, successfully unloaded a large portion of its real estate portfolio late last week.

The Klamath Falls door and window maker sold a package of three Oregon resorts – Brasada Ranch in Powell Butte, Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond and Running Y Ranch and the adjacent Ridgewater Properties in Klamath Falls – to a group comprised of Northview Hotel Group and Oaktree Capital Management.

A majority of the funds for the purchase were provided by the Los Angeles, Calif.-based investment corporation, Oaktree, while the Westport, Conn.-based Northview will take control of management services for the resorts.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Jeld-Wen put the three resorts, as well as one other, up for sale in late October. The purchasing group decided to pass on acquiring another resort, the Silver Mountain ski resort in Kellogg, Idaho, opting to purchase the three others, which are focused around golf courses.

Dave Zeuske, a Northview partner and president of the company’s property management subsidiary NVHG Management, will oversee the properties moving forward. Zeuske is a Lake Oswego native.

In a release sent out Friday, the purchasing group confirmed plans to make upgrades to all three facilities. These will include, among other things, lobby and guest room renovations at Eagle Crest and Running Y Ranch, as well as a spa expansion and additional meeting space at Brasada Ranch.

According to Zeuske, the company will focus its energy on strengthening resort amenities and the overall guest experience. The company will also be more focused on the rental aspect of the resort opposed to the properties that are for sale at the resorts, he said.

In total, the three resorts encompass 7,100 acres, 263 rental units and five golf courses.

The post Jeld-Wen sells three resorts appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Richard “Dick” Wendt, a founder of building products company Jeld-Wen Inc., died on Saturday. He was 79.

Wendt died at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland following a stroke, according to a company spokesman. He was a resident of Klamath Falls, where he managed Jeld-Wen, a windows and doors manufacturer that he founded in 1960.

The company is one of the largest privately held firms in Oregon and has operations in more than 20 countries.

Wendt also created the Jeld-Wen Foundation, which has provided more than $80 million to charities.

Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.

The post Window mogul Dick Wendt dies at 79 appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

… and the air conditioner and the television. Heck, throw open the refrigerator and freezer doors while you’re at it. Jeld Wen, the Klamath Falls-based manufacturer of doors and windows, is for the homeowner with the worst utility bill in the country.

A couple of years ago, Jeld Wen got creative with its marketing. The company got involved in golf tournaments, helping revive, and rebrand, the defunct Fred Meyer Golf Challenge. It helped refurbish an energy-inefficient lighthouse.

Now, the company’s pushing the PR envelope again by asking home owners to step forward and show their worst monthly utility bills. The winner gets an energy-efficient home makeoever and a spot on the television show Today’s Homeowner, while Jeld Wen is likely to get a lot of media attention.

The post Leave the light on … appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

… and the air conditioner and the television. Heck, throw open the refrigerator and freezer doors while you’re at it. Jeld Wen, the Klamath Falls-based manufacturer of doors and windows, is for the homeowner with the worst utility bill in the country.

A couple of years ago, Jeld Wen got creative with its marketing. The company got involved in golf tournaments, helping revive, and rebrand, the defunct Fred Meyer Golf Challenge. It helped refurbish an energy-inefficient lighthouse.

Now, the company’s pushing the PR envelope again by asking home owners to step forward and show their worst monthly utility bills. The winner gets an energy-efficient home makeoever and a spot on the television show Today’s Homeowner, while Jeld Wen is likely to get a lot of media attention.

The post Leave the light on … appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.