Wood Dale, IL-based Optimas Solutions has carved out its International business unit in a move that creates two stand-alone, regionally-focused fastener and C-class component distributors and manufacturers.

European private equity firm Exponent acquired Gloucester, UK-based Optimas International from its parent company, Optimas Solutions. Now, Optimas Solutions will continue operating across North and South America, while the new business will serve the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions.

Terms of the pending transaction were not disclosed.

Optimas Solutions officials said the deal represents the culmination of a multi-year transformation that began in 2020, during which Optimas evolved from a centralized global structure into two autonomous, yet closely aligned, regional businesses.

Optimas Solutions has been owned by American Industrial Partners since 2015.

Premium: Optimas Charts Aggressive Growth Path After Multi-Year Transformation

The CEOs of both entities said the move positions each for growth: 

• “Supply chains today must be agile and resilient. We will remain a globally connected, regionally focused company that is well positioned to adapt to our changing customer needs,” Optimas Solutions CEO Daniel Harms said in a Feb. 3 news release. “This event facilitates faster decision making, greater service flexibility and more effective responses to local market and customer needs.” 
• “The decision to transition Optimas International to a standalone business reflects our success and positions us for a future of enhanced innovation, customer service and sustainable growth,” Optimas International Mike Tuffy said, adding that the Exponent’s expertise and resources will help the company achieve its “ambitious goals.”

Global customers, serviced jointly by both businesses, will continue to experience “seamless execution” between Optimas and Optimas International. 

Optimas Solutions officials said “special provisions enable the businesses to collaborate on future opportunities where it makes strategic sense.“

The transaction is expected to close before the end of the second quarter of 2026, subject to the completion of applicable employee representative processes and customary regulatory approvals.

Combined, the Optimas units had 2024 annual revenue of $695 million. The company has had 35 distribution and service centers across North America, Europe and Asia, powered by approximately 1,400 employees. The company was No. 8 on MDM’s 2025 Top Distributors List for Fasteners and No. 32 for Industrial Supplies.

Optimas Solutions Operations

Optimas Solutions officials said the regional focus enhances its ability to deliver faster and with more reliability, including through improved inventory availability and forecasting, greater industry diversification, digital automation and operational innovation, and supply chain resilience and network optimizations.

“Supplier relationships are foundational to Optimas and our industrial manufacturing customers,” Harms said. “As a stand-alone business, we are able to invest more deliberately in those partnerships while creating long-term growth opportunities.” 

Optimas International Operations

Exponent will partner with Optimas International’s management to accelerate organic growth through investment in commercial and operational capabilities, alongside selective M&A opportunities to broaden the offering and better serve existing and new customers across their supply chain requirements.

“The business is well-positioned for accelerated growth under our ownership, underpinned by its strong customer-supplier relationships, a differentiated value proposition, and disciplined operational execution,” Exponent Partner Tim Easingwood said. “We also see the potential to further scale the platform through M&A in a highly fragmented market.”

Optimas International serves about 1,500 customers globally across multiple production sites and geographies and has an average 20-year tenure with its top customers, according to Expondent. Optimas supplies over 2.2 billion parts per year across 40,000 SKUs, sourced from about 1,200 suppliers.

This marks Exponent’s ninth corporate carve-out over the last decade.