A building material supplier investment group headed by former ProBuild president Paul Hylbert announced its official formation today and will be called Kodiak Building Partners. The company also revealed plans to further invest in building material dealers serving all aspects of the construction industry, from remodeling to commercial builders, in the U.S.
"We believe the time is right to acquire assets in this space," said Hylbert. "While construction activity in general remains very weak, we believe that this business will recover and are looking to partner with strong management teams to participate in the upturn."
The Denver-based company will invest specifically in companies with $10 million to $100 million in sales and will support them based each on individual market needs. Kodiak will give the companies autonomy with decision making and will provide strategic and capital support for them.
Kodiak originally came together in July 2011 when it acquired and invested in Barton Supply, a fabricator and distributor of structural reinforced steel products in Colorado. The company is currently working on a number of other deals, but declined to give specifics on them.
The group that invested in Barton Supply was a team of Hylbert and Boreas Advisors LLC, which was lead by former ProBuild employees Steve Swinney and Brian Cleveringa. Swinney is a former vice president of financial planning and analysis at ProBuild Holdings, while Cleveringa formerly served as ProBuild's corporate finance manager. Swinney will serve as president and COO at Kodiak, while Hylbert will act as CEO and chairman. Hylbert ran ProBuild for three and a half years before stepping down in August 2010.
Hylbert, Swinney, and Cleveringa, who will serve as a managing director, will also be joined by Kyle Barker and Eric Miller, both former ProBuild employees, who will also serve as managing directors.
"As we did with our recapitalization of Barton Supply in July of this year, we want to build Kodiak by partnering with the right management teams, establishing the appropriate capital structure, and then supporting the growth of companies over the long term," Swinney said.