RVRESOLVE

ELKHART, Ind., Aug. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Thor Industries, Inc. (NYSE: THO) today announced that it acquired the assets of innovative recreational vehicle maker Livin' Lite through a wholly-owned subsidiary.  The purchase is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed by August 30, 2013.

"We are pleased to welcome Livin' Lite to the Thor family of RV brands.  Adding such a creative RV maker to Thor's strong stable of brands will enable us to expand our industry-leading position in new product development into camping trailers and truck campers," said Bob Martin, Thor President and Chief Executive Officer.  "We see many opportunities for expanding Livin' Lite's market presence through the Thor dealer network, and the ability to leverage their lightweight aluminum and composite construction technology in other Thor products.  This transaction represents a solid example of executing our strategic plan to grow our RV presence through the acquisition of brands and technologies that complement our existing business."

Founded by former Heartland executive Scott Tuttle, Wakarusa, Indiana-based Livin' Lite is known for its advanced lightweight aluminum construction applied to a variety of smaller RVs, including travel trailers, toy haulers, camping trailers and truck campers.  Livin' Lite also markets its products in partnership with a number of leading consumer brands including Jeep®.  Having recently been named to Inc. magazine's list of fastest growing companies for the third consecutive year, Livin' Lite is expected to generate sales of approximately $24 million for calendar year 2013.

"We are excited to join forces with Thor, the leading company in the RV industry, and we are looking forward to the new growth opportunities we should see as a result," said Scott Tuttle, President, CEO and founder of Livin' Lite.  "We have worked diligently to grow Livin' Lite over the past five years and expect to extend that growth as we bring the distribution, operational and financial strengths of Thor to bear on our business.  As the newest company to join Thor, we also expect to add to our combined development efforts as we apply our proprietary technology to a broader array of existing product lines and bring our combined market strength to camping trailers and truck campers."

Thor expects to offer Livin' Lite's current 35 models to its current dealer network upon closing of the transaction.  The Company expects Livin' Lite will continue to operate out of its existing Wakarusa facilities with minimal disruption to its current business resulting from the acquisition.

About Thor Industries, Inc.Thor is the sole owner of operating subsidiaries that, combined, represent the world's largest manufacturer of recreation vehicles and a major builder of commercial buses.

This release includes certain statements that are "forward looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). These forward looking statements involve uncertainties and risks. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ from our expectations. Factors which could cause materially different results include, among others, price fluctuations, material or chassis supply restrictions, legislative and regulatory developments, the costs of compliance with increased governmental regulation, legal issues, the potential impact of increased tax burdens on our dealers and retail consumers, lower consumer confidence and the level of discretionary consumer spending, the level of state and federal funding available for transportation, interest rate increases, restrictive lending practices, recent management changes, the success of new product introductions, the pace of acquisitions, the impact of the divestiture of the Company's bus businesses, asset impairment charges, cost structure improvements, competition and general economic conditions and the other risks and uncertainties discussed more fully in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2012 and Part II, Item 1A of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended April 30, 2013. We disclaim any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward looking statements contained in this release or to reflect any change in our expectations after the date of this release or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based, except as required by law.

SOURCE Thor Industries, Inc.