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• Wages increased to $15/hr minimum
• Air-conditioned bathrooms and break areas were
installed
• PPE was purchased and the use of it explained and
enforced
• Guarding was installed to control sparks
• New cafeteria and locker room facility
• Guard house with gate and restrooms
• Site improvements to roads and parking areas
• Rolling mill repairs
• Automation SYS Improvements
• Furnace repairs
• Furnace loading system installation
• New peel bar and drive system
• Installation of saw and stacker
• Retention pond clean out and improvements
• New air compressors and plant air system
• Improved safety, morale, and retention
• Increased automation
• Decreased material spend
• Decreased utility usage and spend
• Increased reliability
• Reduced waste
Many Private Equity firms would stray away from an investment that included facilities
with dirt floors, no onsite restrooms, and lack of break and locker room facilities. Mid-
dleGround saw this as an opportunity and challenge to improve a business and the lives of
its employees. We recognized this as an opportunity that could be applied at more than
just Attala Steel and are actively developing an ESG Thesis that incorporates our philoso-
phy:
Key Issues to Address
• Underlying trends and growth tied to megatrends (i.e. infrastructure, mobility, etc.)
• Are there developed or emerging technologies that compete with industry’s core products in
need of development for positive environmental or social outcomes
• Opportunity for GHG emission reduction and/or waste reduction
• Opportunity for replacement inputs or replacement of harmful process chemicals
• Opportunity for equipment or technology improvement to impact safety and/or environmental
factors
• Practices that have been “grandfathered”, thereby enabling limited advancement in reducing
environmental impact
Investment Strategy
• Definable exposure to one or more key issues listed above
• Stable GDP+ growth
• Products are necessary and relevant to future productive society, no viable alternative
• Jobs are essential for community stability
• EBITDA positive
• Definable Value Creation Roadmap prior to close
Target Market
• Global Exposure, North American Headquarters
• Industrial B2B
• Revenue up to $800 million
• Enterprise Value up to $300 million
• Ownership Preference—Founder and family-owned businesses, corporate divestitures, spin-
outs and sponsor backed companies
• Majority control
• Excludes Oil and Gas, Chemical Businesses, Production of Toxic or Environmentally damaging
products, Negative EBITDA, Negative Cash Flow
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 This ESG Annual Report (the “Report”) is provided by MiddleGround Capital (“MiddleGround”) for informa onal purposes only
and is solely intended to summarize the firm’s ESG process related to the private equity assets in investment vehicles managed by
MiddleGround. It covers the me period from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021 , unless otherwise indicated. It should not be
relied upon for any other purpose and does not summarize investment performance. It does not cons tute an offer to sell, or the
solicita on of an offer to buy, any security, product, or service, including interests in a fund.

The informa on in the Report may not necessarily be complete and may change at any me without no ce. Inves ng involves
risk, and there is no assurance that the investment strategy will be a success nor that the investments discussed herein were or
will be profitable. There is no assurance that future events or targets discussed herein will be achieved. Any past performance
informa on provided is not indica ve nor a guarantee of future performance or returns. ESG inves ng is qualita ve and
subjec ve by nature, and there is no guarantee that the ESG metrics u lized will be successful.

Informa on related to por olio companies are intended to illustrate the applica on of MiddleGround’s ESG process. It may have
not necessarily been independently verified or assured by MiddleGround or another third party. MiddleGround does not accept
any responsibility for the content of such informa on and does not guarantee its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness. The
informa on should not be viewed as a recommenda on of any par cular security or investment vehicle and does not represent
all of the investments purchased or sold.