OREANDA-NEWS. March 31, 2015. ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masahiro Okafuji, President & CEO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) and ITOCHU International Inc. (hereinafter “III”) announced today that the two companies have concluded an agreement with Platinum Equity, LLC (United States) in respect of the sale of their holdings of shares of PrimeSource Building Products, Inc. (hereinafter “PrimeSource”). The transaction is subject to legal procedures and approval by the United States antitrust authorities, and is expected to close promptly once the necessary approvals have been obtained.

Details of Sale of Shares

Number of shares to be sold All shares held by ITOCHU and III
Agreed date for sale of shares March 27, 2015 (Japan time)

Reasons for Sale of Shares

PrimeSource was acquired by the ITOCHU Group in 1998, and has proven to be a significant contributor to the Group’s results over the last 16 years. Strong growth in the U.S. economy and the U.S. housing market is expected over the next few years, while the outlook for the operating performance of PrimeSource is expected to rise. Under these circumstances, the valuation of PrimeSource in the M&A market has increased significantly. To enable stable and sustainable growth in the medium and long terms, it has now been decided to sell the Group’s stake in PrimeSource with the aim of raising asset efficiency by replacing strategic assets, as part of the effective utilization of limited management resources.

PrimeSource Corporate Profile

Company name PrimeSource Building Products, Inc.
Headquarters Dallas, Texas, United States
Founded 1990
Business Building materials wholesale in the United States and Canada
URL http://www.primesourcebp.com/[Open in a new window]