The Blackstone Group Has Acquired a Controlling Interest in RGIS
March 22, 2007 – Auburn Hills, MI – RGIS Holdings LLC, the world’s largest inventory and retail services company, has announced today that an affiliate of The Blackstone Group has agreed to purchase a controlling interest in the company. The terms of the transaction are not disclosed.
The current RGIS ownership group will retain a significant stake in RGIS post-close. Goldman, Sachs & Co. has committed to provide bank debt and mezzanine financing. “We are excited to work with our new partners at Blackstone to continue to realize and expand upon the vision that in almost 50 years has made RGIS the world leader in its market segments with operations in over 25 countries. We were first approached by Blackstone late last year, and from the outset we decided that partnering with them would provide us with important advantages that would enable us to fully realize our potential,” said CEO Paul Street.
“RGIS has a tremendous franchise and great growth prospects,” said Ben Jenkins, Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group. “We are delighted to partner with the strong management team to extend the Company’s outstanding track record of quality, reliability and innovation.”
Retail Grocery Inventory Services was founded in 1958, offering grocery stores an accurate and economical alternative to in-house inventories. Within a few years, the business expanded throughout the Midwest and started conducting counts in other retail environments throughout the U.S. Today, RGIS has become the largest inventory and retail services company in the world, serving local businesses as well as Global 500 and Fortune 500 companies. Annually RGIS provides over 450,000 counts or more than 1,225 counts per day for retail clients such as Wal-Mart, CVS, Home Depot, and Target. The transaction is subject to satisfaction of customary conditions and is expected to close in the first half of 2007.
About RGIS
RGIS is the global leader in inventory and retail services, with substantial reach in 400 offices across North America, South America, Australia, Asia and Europe and employs more than 40,000 trained personnel. RGIS has nearly 50 years of experience and a track record of excellence in delivering inventory services to retailers. Further information is available at www.rgisinv.com.
About The Blackstone Group
The Blackstone Group is a leading global alternative asset manager and provider of financial advisory services. The Blackstone Group is one of the largest independent alternative asset managers in the world. Its alternative asset management businesses include the management of corporate private equity funds, real estate opportunity funds, funds of hedge funds, mezzanine funds, senior debt funds, proprietary hedge funds and closed-end mutual funds. The Blackstone Group also provides various financial advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advisory, restructuring and reorganization advisory and fund placement services.