Platinum Equity has agreed to acquire a stake in specialty building materials distributor US LBM from Bain Capital Private Equity. According to a news release, Bain Capital and Platinum Equity will have equal ownership stakes and joint board governance.
US LBM will continue to be led by president and CEO L.T. Gibson as well as the company’s current management team. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
US LBM was founded with 16 locations across three states in 2009. Since then, the distributor has grown into one of the major players in the specialty building materials space, operating more than 450 locations throughout the country offering a portfolio of specialty products, including windows, doors, millwork, wallboard, roofing, siding, engineered components, and cabinetry.
“Our strategy of combining our national scale with a strong local market focus has continued to drive significant growth for US LBM, and Bain Capital’s support has helped accelerate our expansion into several new housing markets while furthering investment in our people, operations, and technology to enhance the value we bring to our suppliers, customers, and communities,” Gibson said.
Gibson said the combined expertise and experience of Bain Capital and Platinum Equity “will be a significant asset in driving the growth and expansion of our business.” Platinum Equity co-president Jacob Kotzubei said US LBM’s footprint, financial profile, operating model will allow it to continue growing in the near-term future.
“We are optimistic about the outlook for new housing over the long term given the nationwide shortage stemming from years of underbuilding that has created an imbalance in supply and demand,” Kotzubei said. “We look forward to working with the company’s leadership group and our partners at Bain Capital to put our financial and operational resources to work.”
Since Bain Capital acquired a majority stake in US LBM in November 2020, US LBM said it has tripled sales and profit as a result of an “accretive” mergers and acquisitions strategy, investments in data and analytics, supply chain optimization, and customer experience.
“We are excited to continue our successful collaboration with L.T. and the talented US LBM team. As the fundamental outlook for new home construction in the U.S. remains strong, we believe the company is poised to further built out its integrated platform through organic growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions,” Stephen Thomas, partner at Bain Capital Private Equity, said.
Platinum Equity managing director Nathan Eldridge said the plan with US LBM is to continue investing in core markets with new product offerings or capabilities while also further expanding the company’s geographic reach.
Platinum Equity recently signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cook & Boardman, a distributor of commercial door and security integration solutions. Other building product companies in the firm’s portfolio include JELD-Wen’s Australasia business, Cabinetworks, and PGS.
The US LBM transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
