Clearlake’s PrimeSource Acquires Advantage Industries

PrimeSource Brands, a portfolio company of Clearlake Capital, has acquired Advantage Industries, a manufacturer of gate and pool safety hardware products.

Advantage Industries is a manufacturer of gate and pool safety hardware sold under the Safetech Hardware brand. The company’s product portfolio includes self-closing hinges, pool safety latches, heavy-duty gate hardware, and decorative accessories used in residential, commercial, and institutional settings.

Advantage’s products are often used in situations where pool and perimeter safety are governed by local building codes.  Advantage is headquartered north of Fort Lauderdale in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

PrimeSource Brands is a provider of specialty branded building products with more than 100,000 SKUs across construction fasteners, fencing and railing systems, door and cabinet hardware, and outdoor living components. The company’s owned brands include Grip-Rite, Pro-Twist, Fortress Railing, RailFX, Ultra-Tec, CityPost, and Key-Link.

Customers of PrimeSource include lumberyards, retailers, distributors, and dealers with a combined 56,000 customer locations. The company, led by CEO Tom Koos, is headquartered in Irving, Texas, and operates 64 facilities across 26 U.S. states and Mexico.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Advantage Industries into the PrimeSource Brands family,” said Mr. Koos. “Advantage has built a reputation for quality, innovation and commitment to safety standards in the pool safety and gate hardware market. Their patented portfolio represents a natural extension of our outdoor living strategy. Combined with our existing Fortress Railing, RailFX, Ultra-Tec, CityPost, and Keylink offerings, this acquisition positions us to provide a broader range capabilities across the fencing and gate hardware market.”

Clearlake Capital acquired PrimeSource Brands from Platinum Equity in December 2020. With the acquisition of Advantage, PrimeSource has now completed ten add-on acquisitions to expand its specialty building products platform. The earlier buys included Dimora Brands (2020), Nationwide Industries (2021), Axxis (2022), CityPost (2024), Harney Hardware (2024), Cobra Anchors (2024), Fortress Railing (2025), and Keylink (2025).

“These acquisitions advance PrimeSource’s leadership in outdoor living by adding complementary products and a shared commitment to safety,” said Managing Partner José E. Feliciano and Partner Colin Leonard in a released statement. “It reflects our commitment to strategic, value-creating M&A that enhances PrimeSource’s market position and broadens our addressable market in specialty building products.”

Clearlake Capital invests in industrials and energy, software and technology-enabled services, and consumer sectors. The firm was co-founded by Mr. Feliciano and Behdad Eghbali in 2006 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. In May 2022, Clearlake Capital held a hard cap and oversubscribed final close of its seventh private equity fund, Clearlake Capital Partners VII LP, with $14.1 billion in commitments. The firm has been fundraising for Fund VIII with a target of $20 billion but has not yet had a final close.