Investcorp announces acquisition of KSI Trading

Muscat: Investcorp, a global provider and manager of alternative investment products, on Sunday announced its recent acquisition of KSI Trading Corp. (KSI), a supplier of after-market auto body parts in the US. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1984, KSI is an industry-leading distributor of quality replacement auto body parts servicing over 10,000 collision repair shop customers across 25 locations in 14 states. In addition to top quality products, KSI has succeeded in providing superior customer service, rapid order turnaround and competitive pricing over the last three decades. Headquartered in South Plainfield, New Jersey, KSI has over 600 employees across the US.
KSI will be led by Christopher Patti, the company’s newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, who brings experience in both privately-held as well as publicly-traded companies. Patti has held leadership roles in the automotive aftermarket industry since 2007 when he joined Keystone Automotive Operations. More recently, he was Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for North America at LKQ, where he was responsible for sales in both the salvage and aftermarket collision business units as well as the Paint, Body & Equipment (PBE) business.
Harsh Shethia, Managing Director at Investcorp in Oman, said: “KSI is already firmly established in the in the automotive world. With a highly experienced team in place, we are confident that KSI will be able to grow further in terms of geographical reach.”
“I’m thrilled to join the best-in-class team at KSI,” said Patti. “With Investcorp as a partner, KSI is well-positioned to continue to deliver both strong growth and exceptional customer service.”
Investcorp has a strong history of investments in the automotive and related markets. With this acquisition, Investcorp also sees an opportunity for KSI to grow by expanding geographically, through the opening of greenfield locations, pursuing acquisitions and establishing stronger relationships with insurance companies and multi-shop operators (MSOs).