Gores Holdings III, a special purpose acquisition company, has completed the acquisition of Platinum Equity portfolio company, PAE, the company announced on Monday.
“Through a culmination of efforts by a workforce dedicated to excellence and professionalism, PAE has reached this milestone. We’re grateful to Platinum Equity, Gores Holdings III and the investors who share our optimism in PAE’s growth value,” said PAE CEO and five time Wash100 Award recipient, John Heller.
The consideration payable to the stockholders of the Company will consist of a combination of cash and shares of Gores Holdings III common stock. In combination with the $400 million cash held in Gores Holdings III’s trust account, additional investors participated in the transaction through a $220 million private placement.
After the acquisition, funds managed by affiliates of Platinum Equity, the prior majority owners of PAE, hold an approximate 23% combined stake in the newly public company.
“The company now has a de-levered balance sheet and the public company currency of a listed business, which position the company well to participate in the consolidation underway in the government services sector. We are excited to participate in the company’s continued value creation through a meaningful remaining equity stake in the business,” said Platinum Equity partner Louis Samson.
The merger was announced in Nov. 2019. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction. Upon the deal’s closure, Gores Holdings III will adopt the name PAE and the latter will become a publicly listed company with approximately $1.55 billion in initial enterprise value.
Gores Holdings III has been renamed PAE Incorporated and its common stock and warrants now trade on Nasdaq under the symbols “PAE” and “PAEWW”, respectively.
About PAE
For more than 60 years, PAE has tackled the world’s toughest challenges to deliver agile and steadfast solutions to the U.S. government and its allies. With a global workforce of more than 20,000 on all seven continents and in approximately 60 countries, PAE delivers a broad range of operational support services to meet the critical needs of our clients. Our headquarters is in Falls Church, Virginia.
