Audax and Odyssey Close PIP Transaction
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Audax and Odyssey Close PIP Transaction

Audax Private Equity has closed its December announced sale of Protective Industrial Products to Odyssey Investment Partners.

Protective Industrial Products (PIP) is a provider of hand protection products and other consumable personal protective equipment (PPE). The company’s products, which total more than 5,000 SKUs, include hand and arm, eye, head, hearing, body, and respiratory protection.

PIP’s hand protection products include chemical-protective, cut-resistant cleanroom and food-service handling gloves. Company-owned brand names include G-Tek, Bouton, Ironcat, Assurance, Kut-Gard, CleanTeam, QRP, and Ambi-Dex.

PIP was founded by members of the Milot and Tao families in 1984 and is today led by CEO Joe Milot. The company has more than 1,000 employees, 1.5 million square feet of warehousing space (1.3 million in the US), and additional capabilities in Canada, Mexico, France, Spain, Australia and China.

“We are proud to have partnered with Joe and the PIP team in creating the leading platform in the hand and arm PPE industry,” said Joe Rogers, a managing director at Audax. “We wish continued success to Joe and his team as they embark on the next chapter of growth with their new partner.”

Under Odyssey ownership, Mr. Milot will continue to lead the company and the Milot and Tao families are maintaining an ownership position in the company.

“Audax has been a valuable partner in helping us grow PIP into a leading national provider of PPE,” said Mr. Milot. “With Audax’ support, we were able to grow the company organically and through acquisitions while investing in key executive talent, new facilities, and systems to support and sustain continued growth. We are excited to partner with Odyssey to continue our strategy to drive organic growth and acquisitions to expand our presence globally.”

“We look forward to pursuing a multi-pronged growth strategy for PIP, including both organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions,” said Henry Bendit, a principal at Odyssey. “Given its scale and proven success with integrating prior acquisitions, PIP is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the fragmented global PPE market to grow within its current core offerings, while expanding further into adjacent PPE categories, both in the US and internationally.”

Odyssey makes control investments in middle-market companies that have from $20 million to $100 million of EBITDA and are active in the industrial and business services sectors. In February 2020, Odyssey held a first, final, and hard cap closing of Odyssey Investment Partners Fund VI LP with $3.25 billion of capital.

Audax acquired PIP in partnership with the company’s founding Milot and Tao families in February 2018. The firm invests in middle-market companies that have from $8 million to $50 million in EBITDA and enterprise values of $50 million to $400 million. Sectors of interest include business and consumer services; energy; healthcare; technology, media and telecom; and industrials including chemicals, infrastructure, and building materials. Audax has offices in Boston, New York, and San Francisco

© 2021 Private Equity Professional | January 6, 2021

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