Slate Capital sells metal deck distributor OMD to Clarendon Capital
What's the deal? Slate Capital GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has sold its portfolio company, O’Donnell Metal DeckDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → & Bar Joist (OMD), to Clarendon Capital. Terms were not disclosed.
What each company does: OMD is a value-added distributor of metal decking, steel bar joists, and related structural products for the US commercial construction industry. Slate Capital is a private equity firm based in Baltimore, Nashville, and Cincinnati that backs lower-middle-market companies.
Why now? Slate partnered with management to acquire OMD in November 2020, after founder Steve O’Donnell retired. The sale caps roughly five and a half years of ownership.
The growth story: Under chief executive officer Matt Weiss, OMD grew from one to 21 locations, combining company-run facilities and third-party logistics sites. Its workforce rose from eight to about 70, and revenue increased more than tenfold during Slate’s ownership.
The company expanded through organic growth, acquisitions, and investment in operating infrastructure, turning a regional distributor into a national player.
What they're saying: "Slate Capital Group believed in our goals from day one and supported us in building a leading nationwide distributor," Weiss said.
Rick Corcoran, partner and co-founder of Slate, said the firm met OMD "at an ideal time in the company’s history," adding that partnering with Weiss "as they expanded and completed acquisitions was an honor."
The advisers: Raymond James served as financial adviser and Dentons LLP as legal counsel to Slate and OMD.
The signal: Founder-owned businesses in succession transitions remain a core focus for Slate, which says it aims to preserve company legacies while funding growth. The deal reflects continued private equity appetite for building up specialist distributors in fragmented industrial markets before passing them to the next owner.
Read more: citybiz
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