Platinum Equity has agreed to acquire PrimeSource Building Products – a distributor of building products – from ITOCHU Corporation. This transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter.
PrimeSource Building Products, owned by ITOCHU Group since 1998, has 42 locations across the US and Canada and has carries more than 700,000 SKUs. PrimeSource distributes building products including adhesives and caulks, anchor bolts, builders hardware, collated fasteners and screws, nails and steel framing. Customers include lumber and building supply dealers, retailers, supply chains, steel fabricators and wholesalers. PrimeSource has 7.1 million sq. ft. of storage capacity across its system (4.1 million square ft. under roof + 3.0 million outside). The company was founded in 1938 as Harbor Plywood. PrimeSource is headquartered in Irving, TX (www.primesourcebp.com).
According to Platinum Equity partner Jacob Kotzubei, who leads the Platinum Equity team pursuing the acquisition – “The opportunity to acquire PrimeSource is attractive for multiple reasons. The business is an industry leader with powerful brands and a strong culture. We look forward to working with the PrimeSource leadership team to help the business reach new heights and maximize its potential.”
Platinum Equity invests in a range of industries including information technology, telecommunications, logistics, metals services, manufacturing and distribution. Platinum Equity has completed nearly 150 acquisitions with more than $27.5 billion in annual revenue at the time of acquisition. The firm was founded in 1995 and is based in Beverly Hills with additional offices in New York and London (www.platinumequity.com).
“We are confident that PrimeSource will continue to thrive under Platinum Equity’s ownership, and will benefit from the increasingly strong growth of the US housing market,” said Yasuyuki Harada, President & CEO, ITOCHU International.
Platinum Equity specializes in executing divestiture transactions from large global corporations such as ITOCHU. In recent years, Platinum Equity has completed acquisitions from AP Moeller Maersk, Caterpillar, CBS, Deutsche Post DHL, Emerson, Telstra and Volvo.
“We are grateful to ITOCHU, and extremely excited with the prospect of new ownership under Platinum Equity,” said PrimeSource Co-CEO David Fishbein. “Like PrimeSource, Platinum Equity is focused on maintaining operational excellence and executing growth initiatives and is willing to help us go to great lengths for the sake of our customers.”
Deutsche Bank and other underwriters will assist Platinum Equity with the debt financing. J.P. Morgan is the exclusive financial advisor to ITOCHU.
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 3-30-15
