American Standard Announces Agreement to Sell Bath and Kitchen Business to Bain Capital for $1.755 Billion

American Standard Announces Agreement to Sell Bath and Kitchen Business to Bain Capital for $1.755 Billion

July 24, 2007

    PISCATAWAY, N.J., July 24 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
American Standard Companies Inc. (NYSE: ASD) today
announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell
the company's worldwide Bath and Kitchen products business
to funds advised by Bain Capital Partners, LLC, a leading
global private investment firm, for $1.755 billion in cash.

    Upon completion of the sale, Bain Capital will acquire
all of American Standard's Bath and Kitchen business with
2006 annual sales of $2.4 billion, 26,000 employees and 54
production facilities in 23 countries worldwide.  The
business manufactures and markets industry-leading products
under brand names such as American Standard(R), Ideal
Standard(R), Armitage Shanks(R), Porcher(R), Jado(R),
Ceramica Dolomite(R) and Vidima(R).

    The sale closing is expected to occur early in the
fourth quarter. The company intends to use proceeds of the
sale primarily to repurchase common stock and reduce debt
to keep the company at investment-grade standards. The sale
is subject to normal regulatory approvals and customary
closing conditions.  Shareholder approval is not required.
The buyer has secured firm financing commitments. 

    On Feb. 1, 2007, American Standard announced plans to
separate its three businesses by selling Bath and Kitchen,
spinning off Vehicle Control Systems and retaining its
largest business, Air Conditioning Systems and Services. 
Today's announcement is the final step needed for
completion of those plans following the spinoff of Vehicle
Control Systems as an independent publicly traded company
to be known as WABCO, which is scheduled for July 31 at
11:59 p.m. EDT.  In March, the company sold Venesta
Washroom Systems, which was part of Bath and Kitchen. 
Combined with Venesta, proceeds for the sale of Bath and
Kitchen total $1.92 billion.

    Following the spinoff and the sale, American Standard
Companies will change its name to Trane. Trane is the
flagship brand of its global Air Conditioning Systems and
Services business, which last year generated sales of $6.8
billion.  Trane will retain the American Standard brand
name for its heating, ventilating and air conditioning
(HVAC) and related products, while the newly formed Bath
and Kitchen business will retain the name for its markets. 


    "This is a major milestone in our plan to separate
American Standard into three focused, better understood
companies," said Fred Poses, American Standard
chairman and CEO.  "We believe that Bain Capital's
all-cash offer provides excellent value for our
shareowners.  Bath and Kitchen is a global market leader,
with size, global reach and organizational talent.  It has
a rich history and a great future for its customers,
employees and new owners."  

    "This is a market-leading global company with a
wonderful heritage, a strong portfolio of brands, deep
customer relationships and an experienced management
team," said Steve Barnes, a managing director at Bain
Capital based in Boston. "We look forward to
supporting the management team and dedicated employees in
realizing the company's full potential through continued
operational improvements, further enhancing and leveraging
its strong family of brands, and accelerating growth,"
added Walid Sarkis, a London-based managing director at Bain
Capital.

    American Standard Companies is completing plans to spin
off WABCO.  Regular trading of WABCO's common stock (WBC) is
set to begin Aug. 1 on the New York Stock Exchange.  It is
currently traded on a "when issued" basis.
    American Standard's financial advisor for the Bath and
Kitchen sale is Lazard.  Its legal counsel is Skadden Arps.
 For Bain Capital, Bank of America, N.A. and Credit Suisse
provided financing, Lehman Brothers acted as financial
advisors, Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel,
and PricewaterhouseCoopers provided transaction advisory
services.

    ABOUT AMERICAN STANDARD COMPANIES:

    American Standard is an $11.2 billion global
manufacturer with market-leading positions in three
businesses: air conditioning systems and services, sold
under the Trane(R) and American Standard(R) brands for
commercial, institutional and residential buildings; bath
and kitchen products, sold under such brands as American
Standard(R) and Ideal Standard(R); and vehicle control
systems, including electronic braking and air suspension
systems, sold under the WABCO(R) name to the world's
leading manufacturers of heavy-duty trucks, buses, SUVs and
luxury cars. The company employs approximately 62,000 people
and has manufacturing operations in 28 countries.  American
Standard is included in both the S&P 500 and the Dow
Jones Sustainability North America Index, which recognizes
the top 20 percent of leaders in corporate sustainability
in North America.  

    ABOUT BAIN CAPITAL PARTNERS:

    Bain Capital ( http://www.baincapital.com ) is a global
private investment firm that manages several pools of
capital including private equity, high-yield assets,
mezzanine capital and public equity with approximately $50
billion in assets under management. Since its inception in
1984, Bain Capital has made private equity investments and
add-on acquisitions in over 240 companies around the world,
including such leading companies as Dunkin' Brands, Sealy,
Toys "R" Us, Michaels Stores, Burger King,
SigmaKalon, Bombardier Recreational Products, Samsonite,
Sensata Technologies and Staples.  Headquartered in Boston,
Bain Capital has offices in New York, London, Munich, Hong
Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.

    Comments in this news release contain certain
forward-looking statements, which are based on management's
good faith expectations and belief concerning future
developments.  Forward-looking statements can be identified
by the use of words such as "believe,"
"expect," "plans,"
"strategy," "prospects,"
"estimate," "project,"
"anticipate," "intends" and other words
of similar meaning.  Actual results may differ materially
from these expectations.  American Standard does not
undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking
statements.

    Additional information is available at
http://www.americanstandard.com .  


    For more information, please contact:

    Media
    
     Skip Colcord
     American Standard
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Shelly London
     American Standard
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

    Investors

     Bruce Fisher
     American Standard
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Alex Stanton
     Stanton Crenshaw Communications
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]