Platinum Equity, Los Angeles, CA, has agreed to acquire PNA Group Inc., a processor and distributor of steel products with annual revenue of $1.2 billion.

The seller is TUI AG, the largest travel and tourism company in Europe, which has been divesting non-core industrial holdings in order to focus on its core tourism and shipping sectors.

PNA Group processes steel and distributes it to fabricators, manufacturers and distributors, primarily in the United States. The company comprises three independent business units:

• Feralloy, headquartered in Chicago, which provides hot-rolled coiled steel, galvanized and other rolled steel, and hot-rolled pickle;


• Delta Steel, headquartered in Houston, which provides steel structural beams, channels, tubes, plates and hot-rolled coiled steel;


• Infra-Metals, headquartered in Atlanta, which provides steel structural products.

Platinum Equity Chairman and CEO Tom Gores views PNA Group as a strong platform for growth in the steel services industry, said Jacob Kotzubei, senior vice president for mergers and acquisitions at Platinum.

"We are very enthusiastic about the steel and steel services sector," Kotzubei said.

The acquisition of PNA Group will significantly increase Platinum's operations in the steel and steel services sector. In December 2005, the firm acquired ESM Group Inc., which provides a variety of products and services to the steel production industry, including desulphurization and secondary metallurgy services, caster segment maintenance, equipment design and manufacture, as well as the supply of specialty magnesium to non-steel related industries.

Since its founding in 1995 by entrepreneur Tom Gores, Platinum Equity has acquired more than 50 businesses with more than $11 billion in aggregate revenue at time of acquisition.