A majority ownership of Cook & Boardman Group, a distributor of doors, frames and security systems based in Winston-Salem, is being sold to Los Angeles private equity company Platinum Equity.
Terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
Cook & Boardman employs 1400 people and is among the largest privately held companies in North Carolina. In the Business North Carolina list of top private companies, it was listed as having between $500 million and $999 million in revenue.
Its previous owner, Littlejohn & Co., will retain a minority stake in the company, which was founded in 1955 and has more than 70 locations in 21 states.
“Cook & Boardman has built an impressive, diversified business with national scale,” said Platinum Equity Co-President Jacob Kotzubei in a press release. “Customers in this space want more than just a traditional distributor of doors and hardware. They increasingly need value added solutions, including electronic safety and security systems. We believe Cook & Boardman is uniquely positioned to capitalize on that growing demand for integrated solutions.”
Cook & Boardman interim CEO David Eisner lauded Littlejohn’s ownership.
“Littlejohn’s proven ability to build and scale businesses has helped us successfully execute strategic acquisitions, expand into the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast markets, and build our Security Integration division over the past five years,” said Eisner. “Platinum’s financial resources and operations expertise can now help us take it to another level.”
Platinum Equity’s building products portfolio includes Jeld-Wen’s Australasia business; Cabinetworks, the largest independently owned U.S. manufacturer and distributor of kitchen and bath cabinets; and PGS, a provider of hard surface floor coverings. It has $47 billion in assets under management.
Platinum Equity founder Tom Gores has owned the Detroit Pistons since 2011.
