Peco Pallet to be acquired by pair of investment firms

Pallet pooler Peco Pallet Inc. will be acquired by two investment firms in a deal that is set to bring additional backing for the company’s network of its trademark red-colored, wood-block pallets, which circulate through more than 80 facilities and 21 million pallets across North America.

Irvington, New York-based Peco, which is owned by private equity firm The Pritzker Group, will be sold to the U.S.-based Alinda Capital Partners and U.K.-based pension fund Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Peco President and CEO Joe Dagnese said the firm’s current management and operations team “will continue to lead the organization under its new ownership.”

Peco says it is one of North America’s largest providers of pooled rental pallets and services to the food service, grocery, and consumer products industries. The company builds, services, delivers, and manages distribution of its pallets.

According to Dagnese, the acquisition will benefit Peco’s employees, suppliers, partners, distributors, and customers through access to Alinda’s and USS’s resources and their strategies of helping essential infrastructure businesses grow profitably in their markets. Alinda and USS have significant experience in transportation and logistics, including infrastructure to handle and store freight and supply chain operations, Peco said in a release.

“PECO is an excellent fit with USS’s investment philosophy of acquiring resilient businesses with a track record of sustainable growth and cashflow generation to help USS deliver a secure financial future for our members. We look forward to working with the management team and continuing our successful partnership with Alinda,” Michael Powell, head of USS’ Private Markets Group, said in a release.

PECO Pallet is pleased to announce a definitive agreement to be acquired by two of the world’s most respected global investors in essential infrastructure businesses: Alinda Capital Partners and The Universities Superannuation Pension Fund (USS). https://t.co/ifa4jcB5Jn

— PECO Pallet (@PECOPallet) October 5, 2020