Pearlman Group, a portfolio company of The Stephens Group, has acquired Advanced Diamond Technologies (DBA Vector Tools). The Stephens Group acquired Pearlman from the Harbour Group in May 2017.
Vector is a value-added distributor of supplies, tools, and equipment used in the fabrication and maintenance of stone and other hard surfaces in the residential, commercial, and industrial end markets. The company’s products – sold under national brands as well as the company’s Vector, Vector Plus and Vector Echo brands – include power tools; cutting blades; core, head and router bits; grinders and sanders; polishing pads; carts and dollies; clamps and vises; and safety supplies.
Vector’s mobile, on-premises sales fulfillment model serves customers primarily located in the Southeastern United States from locations in Nashville, Tennessee; Birmingham, Alabama; and Charlotte, North Carolina. Alpharetta, Georgia-headquartered Vector was founded in 2001 by Elbert Wu and Corey Levy. Post-closing, Mr. Wu and Mr. Levy, along with the current management team and employees will continue to operate the company in partnership with Pearlman.
Pearlman is a multi-channel developer and distributor of supplies, tools and equipment used in the fabrication, maintenance, and cleaning of surfaces for residential, commercial, and industrial end markets. Pearlman operates through three segments – GranQuartz, Pearl Abrasive, and Excel Supplies – and its proprietary, exclusive, and national branded products – totaling more than 18,000 SKUs – are sold across multiple price points and applications.
The company’s GranQuartz products are sold to more than 8,000 stone fabricators, tile installers, and concrete and monument professionals, while its Pearl branded abrasives and cutting tools are sold to more than 5,000 distributor customers in construction and industrial end-markets. Excel Supplies is a specialty distributor of cleaning, restoration, pressure washing, and janitorial equipment and supplies.
Pearlman is led by CEO Scott McLendon and is headquartered near Atlanta in Norcross, Georgia.
“We have been impressed by Vector as a respected competitor of GranQuartz and are excited to be partnering with their team to add to our existing capabilities and serve our collective customers even better,” said Mr. McLendon. “As seasoned industry professionals, Elbert and Corey have built a solid business, team, and brand all of which we are excited to have at Pearlman.”
“We are excited to support the Pearlman team as they continue to execute on a multi-faceted acquisition strategy across core and adjacent markets,” said Grant Jones, a managing director at The Stephens Group. “The Vector transaction demonstrates the continued opportunity to add unique competitive capabilities that will build an industry-leading specialty distribution platform.”
Little Rock, Arkansas-based The Stephens Group is a family office that makes both minority and control investments in public and privately held companies. Sectors of interest include industrial and commercial products and services, specialty distribution, technology infrastructure and tech-enabled services, B2B food and beverage, and consumer products.
© 2021 Private Equity Professional | December 20, 2021
