Audax Private Equity Completes the Sale of Protective Industrial Products to Odyssey Investment Partners

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Audax Private Equity (“Audax”) has completed the sale of Protective Industrial Products (“PIP” or the “Company”) to Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC (“Odyssey”).

Headquartered in Latham, NY, Protective Industrial Products is a leading provider of essential, high performance hand and arm protective personal equipment (“PPE”) products with an increasingly broad array of adjacent consumable PPE categories, including protective clothing, head protection, eye & hearing protection, and other PPE. PIP serves over 5,600 customers around the world in both the industrial distribution and retail channels, with a comprehensive product portfolio of over 20 brands and 12,000 SKUs. The Company maintains strategic relationships with more than 400 overseas suppliers and operates 10 domestic manufacturing facilities and 12 global distribution centers. Since Audax’ investment in PIP in January 2018, the Company completed 11 acquisitions, expanding its product and brand portfolio while maintaining its dedication to high quality PPE and best-in-class customer service.

Joe Milot, President of Protective Industrial Products, said, “Audax has been a valuable partner in helping us grow PIP into a leading national provider of PPE. With Audax’ support, we were able to grow the Company organically and through acquisitions while investing in key executive talent, new facilities, and systems to support and sustain continued growth. We are excited to partner with Odyssey to continue our strategy to drive organic growth and acquisitions to expand our presence globally.”

Joe Rogers, Managing Director at Audax, said, “We are proud to have partnered with Joe Milot and the PIP team in creating the leading platform in the hand and arm PPE industry. We wish continued success to CEO and Founder Joe Milot and his team as they embark on the next chapter of growth with their new partner.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. served as legal advisors and Lincoln International LLC and Harris Williams served as financial advisors to Protective Industrial Products.

ABOUT AUDAX PRIVATE EQUITY
Audax Group is a leading alternative investment manager with offices in Boston, New York, and San Francisco. Since its founding in 1999, the firm has raised over $27 billion in capital across its Private Equity and Private Debt businesses. Audax Private Equity has invested over $6 billion in more than 135 platforms and over 900 add-on companies. Through its disciplined Buy & Build approach, Audax seeks to help platform companies execute add-on acquisitions that fuel revenue growth, optimize operations, and significantly increase equity value. With more than 250 employees and over 100 investment professionals, the firm is a leading capital partner for North American middle market companies. For more information, visit the Audax Group website www.audaxgroup.com.

ABOUT PROTECTIVE INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS
Protective Industrial Products (PIP^®) is a leader in providing innovative PPE to wholesalers and distributors in the industrial channels. PIP^®, along with its recognized leading brands: G-Tek^®, Bouton^®, Ironcat^®, Assurance^®, Kut-Gard^®, CleanTeam^®, QRP^®, Ambi-Dex^®, Dynamic^®, Maximum Safety^®, Novax^®, JSP^®, and Boss^® are relied upon for personal protection by workers every day. Our West Chester^® division offers safety products to leading Retail customers under the Safety Works^®, Boss^®, Brahma^®, Mud^®, West County Gardener^® and Hearos^® brands, as well as some of the world's most recognized licensed brands. Additional information about PIP^® is available at www.pipusa.com.