Breaking: Axalta Former Owner Carlyle Buys Worldpac from Advance

 

Global investment firm The Carlyle Group, which purchased Axalta Coating Systems in 2013 and later took it public, has agreed to purchase automotive parts wholesale distributor Worldpac, Inc., from Advance Auto Parts, Inc. The $1.5 billion cash transaction is expected to close before the end of the year.

 

Worldpac generated approximately $2.1 billion in revenue and approximately $100 million in EBITDA over the last twelve months at the end of the second quarter of 2024. 

 

“We are pleased to announce the sale of the Worldpac business,” said Shane O’Kelly, president and chief executive officer in a press release. "The sale enables our team to sharpen their focus on decisive actions to turn around the Advance blended box business. Proceeds from the transaction will provide greater financial flexibility as we continue our strategic and operational review to improve the productivity of the company’s remaining assets and better position the company for future growth and value creation. On behalf of everyone at Advance, I would like to thank the more than 5,000 Worldpac team members for their dedication over the last ten years.”

 

"We are excited to partner with Worldpac, a great business operating in attractive markets," said Wes Bieligk, a partner, and Katherine Barasch, a senior member of Carlyle's Global Industrials investing team. "Our proven track record in executing complex carve-outs position us uniquely to support Worldpac and its team as an independent company."

According to the release, Carlyle's investment in Worldpac builds on the firm's extensive carve-out experience in the Industrials sector, having invested $13 billion in industrial carve-outs over the past two decades, including in such companies as Nouryon, Atotech, Signode, and Allison Transmission.

Carylyle acquired Axalta, formerly known as DuPont Performance Coatings, in February 2013 and took the company public in late 2014.