Year In Review: Platinum Equity Celebrates 30th Anniversary During a Year of Creative Dealmaking, Notable Exits and Another Successful Capital Raise

Through focused execution, key acquisitions like PlayPower, Anuvu and the combination of Solo and XD Connects highlight Platinum Equity’s ability to execute new investment opportunities in evolving market conditions. The firm’s acquisition of the Owens & Minor Products & Healthcare Services business demonstrated long‑standing strength in complex corporate carveouts.  

On the sell-side, the firm executed several notable transactions, including the $7.4 billion merger of Husky Technologies with CompoSecure, the initial public offering of McGraw Hill, Rehlko’s sale of Curtis Instruments to Parker Hannifin for $1 billion, the TruckPro-FleetPride strategic merger, and Motors & Armatures selling its parts division for $650 million.

Platinum Equity’s operations team played a critical role in helping its portfolio companies stay agile amid evolving global trade pressures, applying real‑time supply chain and pricing expertise to navigate the shifting landscape of U.S. tariffs.

Investor support also remained strong. Platinum Equity successfully closed its Small Cap Fund II at $2.28 billion, surpassing its fundraising target and reinforcing demand for the firm’s lower middle market strategy. The Small Cap team was active throughout the year, leveraging a playbook that draws on Platinum’s three decades of experience in that end of the market.

In his home state of Michigan, Platinum Equity Chairman and CEO Tom Gores and his wife Holly led an ownership group that was awarded a WNBA franchise for Detroit, which will bring women’s professional basketball back to the Motor City. The Gores family, together with Platinum Equity, continued their long-standing support of community organizations making an impact in the region.

As Platinum Equity enters its fourth decade, Gores emphasized the importance of sustaining the culture that has defined the firm for the past 30 years:

“As much as I respect our history, I’m passionate about the future,” said Gores. “Our responsibility going forward is to protect what we’ve built and continue to live the values that got us here. There are challenges out there and we’re ready. We don’t wait for the world to decide what it’s doing, we take our own action. We adapt and we stay in motion.”

Here are highlights from 2025:

Platinum Equity celebrates 30^th anniversary

In the three decades since Tom Gores founded Platinum Equity, the firm has grown into a team of more than 350 professionals across six global offices, completed more than 550 acquisitions, and reached approximately $50 billion in assets under management. Throughout the year, Platinum Equity celebrated the employees, investors, business partners, portfolio companies and other contributors who helped it reach this significant milestone.

Platinum Equity makes headlines with $7.4 billion Husky-CompoSecure merger

In November, Platinum Equity announced an exit for portfolio company Husky Technologies: a $7.4 billion merger with CompoSecure (recently renamed “GPGI, Inc.”) in partnership with Resolute Holdings, a firm backed by former Honeywell CEO David Cote. A creative deal structure was designed to offer the “best of both worlds,” delivering an immediate return of capital with meaningful upside through a stake in the newly combined public company.

McGraw Hill begins trading on the NYSE

Executives from Platinum Equity-backed McGraw Hill rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in July to celebrate a return to the public markets for the global provider of information solutions for education. Over the past five years Platinum Equity has helped accelerate McGraw’s digital transformation. From fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2025, the company more than doubled its digital revenue.

Sales to strategics generate meaningful returns

Despite a turbulent market, several Platinum Equity investments returned capital through sales to strategic acquirers. In January the firm sold trade services firm Livingston International to Purolator, Inc. In September, portfolio company Rehlko sold its Curtis Instruments division to Parker Hannifin Corporation for approximately $1 billion in cash. In November, portfolio company Motors & Armatures sold its parts division to CSW Industrials, Inc. (NYSE: CSW) for $650 million.

Small Cap Fund II closes above target with $2.28B in commitments

Platinum Equity completed capital raising for Platinum Equity Small Cap Fund II, L.P. with $2.28 billion in commitments, exceeding its target of $1.75 billion. The fund is being deployed by the firm’s dedicated lower middle market team focused on transactions involving founder or family-owned businesses, complex corporate divestures, public-to-private transitions, and acquisitions from a diverse range of private sellers. Tom Gores said: “The team has deep roots and tremendous momentum, and the overwhelming response to our latest fund is a testament to that.”

Lower middle team drives monetizations, puts fresh capital to work

Throughout 2025 Platinum Equity’s lower middle market team completed 20 transactions, including seven new platforms, 11 add-on acquisitions, and two divestitures. In November, the firm agreed to sell Unical Aviation Inc., a global provider of aerospace aftermarket solutions, to Satair, an Airbus company. The team also acquired a majority stake in R&B Wholesale Distributors, a distributor of home appliances in the southwestern United States. In October, Platinum Equity acquired Anuvu, a provider of global entertainment and high-speed connectivity solutions for airlines, cruise lines and other mobility end-markets.

European acquisitions create new personalizable products platform

In a four-month span between June and September, Platinum Equity announced the tandem acquisitions of Solo Group, headquartered in Paris, and XD Connects, headquartered in Rijswijk, the Netherlands. Both businesses provide custom-branded merchandise for B2B customers throughout Europe. The deals closed in the fourth quarter and the companies are being combined to deliver greater scale, an expanded product offering and increased geographic reach.

Portcos make a number of significant add-on acquisitions

Platinum Equity used strategic M&A to bolster its portfolio companies by completing 48 add-on acquisitions in 2025. Highlights include: Solenis acquired water treatment and industrial solutions company NCH Corp. With the acquisition, Solenis has grown into an enterprise operating in more than 160 countries with approximately 23,000 employees. Rehlko acquired The Wilmott Group, a UK-based supplier of critical back-up power solutions. Peli Bio Thermal announced the acquisition of Evo, provider of cold chain logistics solutions and cryogenic cell and gene therapy transport, and in November, Horizon Family Brands announced the acquisition of Maple Hill Creamery.

Platinum Equity credit strategy delivers tailored financing solutions

Platinum Equity’s credit team led the recapitalization of Kodak Alaris, a company that operates Kodak Moments, a global provider of film and photo solutions, and Alaris, a global provider of data capture and processing solutions to enterprises and consumers. In April, Platinum Equity announced that it led a financing for Impact Climate Technologies to refinance its existing indebtedness and support future growth of the business. ICT is a supplier of design-assist engineering and manufacturers’ representation services to the commercial HVAC industry. 

Jacob Kotzubei talks importance of investor-first mindset at Milken

Platinum Equity Co-President Jacob Kotzubei was a featured panelist at the Milken Institute Global Conference in May. During a discussion called “Private Markets Reimagined,” Kotzubei reflected on a range of topics, including a private equity landscape some believe has become increasingly commoditized: “(LPs) have to be thinking very carefully around, ‘Am I investing in an asset manager or an investor?’ Those are different philosophies and different mindsets. Do I want (a GP) to just gather assets and scale? Or do I want to really focus on value creation in the investments I’m making? At Platinum Equity, we have always been deeply focused on the investor mindset. We put our money where our mouth is.”

Louis Samson tells PE Hub how relationships, creativity helped drive exit activity

On the PE Hub podcast Private Equity Spotlight, Platinum Equity Co-President Louis Samson talked about how Platinum Equity overcame a challenging market for divestitures to generate liquidity for its investors in 2025. He said: “Finding (an attractive exit) requires more creativity, more work, and a different process than the standard fare, and cultivating relationships and rapport. It’s always been part of what we do. It’s much more relationship oriented. We’re also working on very complex, highly engineered … transactions, the kind of deals this market calls for. More structure, more deliberate and a lot less cookie cutter.”

Tom Gores leads diverse investor group to bring the WNBA back to Detroit

The  WNBA announced that Detroit and an ownership group led by Tom and Holly Gores were awarded an expansion franchise. The group comprises a diverse collection of equity investors that includes accomplished men and women in global sports, business, entertainment, media and finance. Gores plans to build a new practice facility and team headquarters that will include a youth sports center. The new team will join the league in competition beginning in 2029.

Platinum Equity continues supporting students through mentorship, scholarships

Platinum Equity’s partnership with the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy (JRLA), a public charter high school founded by former NBA player and media personality Jalen Rose, continued to expand. In March, the firm kicked off its fourth annual mentorship program and announced $50,000 in scholarships to JRLA seniors, doubling last’s year’s  $25,000. In May, Tom Gores and Platinum Equity hosted the 15^th Annual JRLA Golf Classic, which is typically the school’s largest annual fundraiser.

Gores family’s season of giving impacts kids, families in Michigan

In December, the Tom Gores pledged $350,000 to SAY Detroit with $100,000 allocated to support SAY Detroit’s efforts to turn the famed St. Cecilia’s Gym and its surrounding eight-acre campus into a new community center. The Gores family has donated more than $2.4 million to the nonprofit since 2017. The Gores family also continued its annual support for the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots and Voice for Children nonprofits by sponsoring toy giveaways in Detroit, Flint and Downriver communities in Michigan.