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Posted October 21, 2019

ORS Nasco sold to One Equity Partners

Wholesaler ORS Nasco carries 200,000 SKUs and more than 600 brands. 


One Equity Partners, a middle market private equity firm, announced that it has completed the acquisition of ORS Nasco from Essendant Inc. in a corporate carve-out transaction.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

ORS Nasco is a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based wholesaler of industrial and safety supplies selling exclusively to distributors throughout North America. ORS Nasco offers access to over 200,000 SKUs of products from more than 600 brands for use in the industrial, welding, energy, safety, electrical, construction, HVAC, MRO, PVF, plumbing, janitorial, and rental channel markets. ORS Nasco serves distributor customers with a network of 16 distribution centers nationwide and internationally.

“We are excited to partner with the management team lead by CEO Chris Kempa to provide them with capital and operational resources that will allow them to pursue the next chapter of growth as an independent company,” said David Han, senior managing director at OEP. “This acquisition is well aligned with OEP’s historic focus on structuring carve-outs of attractive industrial businesses in close partnership with management teams and corporate sellers.”

“We are thrilled to become an independent company through our partnership with OEP and believe that we will be able to increase and expand sales to existing and new customers based on ORS Nasco’s market-leading wholesale distribution capabilities and continued focus on providing exceptional customer service,” said Kempa.

OEP also acquired MEDCO, an automotive aftermarket wholesaler, from Essendent. The two separate portfolios, ORS Nasco and MEDCO, serve industrial, welding, safety, construction, energy, automotive, and paint body & equipment channels through their broad national distribution networks.

One Equity Partners is a middle market private equity firm with over $6 billion in assets under management focused on the industrial, healthcare and technology sectors in North America and Europe.

One Equity Partners was founded in 2001, as the in-house private equity arm of Bank One, and in 2005 transitioned to JPMorgan in the same capacity. In January 2015, One Equity Partners spun-out from JPMorgan to establish the firm as an independent management company, continuing its successful middle market investment strategy from JPMorgan.

Learn more at www.orsnasco.com

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