NEWS

Centre Lane Partners Announces the Sale of the Merit Distribution Group



New York, NY – April 2, 2019 – Centre Lane Partners (“Centre Lane”), a New York based private investment firm, is pleased to announce the sale of the Merit Distribution Group (“Merit”) to Center Rock Capital Partners (“Center Rock”).

Based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Merit is a national distributor of paint sundries, flooring products, and related installation supplies with more than 30,000 SKUs from more than 600 manufacturers. Merit is a critical link in the supply chain with warehousing, inventory management, and overnight and next day fulfillment capabilities. Merit services its customers from 10 distribution centers and 23 branch locations.

Under Centre Lane’s ownership, Merit emerged from bankruptcy, enhanced its relationships with customers and vendors, completed several operational improvement initiatives and ultimately returned to profitability. By strategically investing in the business and by completing several accretive acquisitions, Centre Lane together with the management team, successfully expanded into new markets and ancillary channels which meaningfully diversified Merit’s service offerings, customer base and geographic presence. Mayank Singh, a Managing Director of Centre Lane, stated: “We are pleased with the successful transformation of Merit and would like to thank Mitch and the Merit team for their partnership, hard work and dedication. We wish them every success going forward.”

Mitch Jolley, CEO of Merit, added: “Centre Lane was a great partner for me and my team. We are grateful to Centre Lane for providing our team with the expertise, capital and resources needed to re-establish the business and position it for growth. Their strategic and tactical insights also proved invaluable as we expanded our footprint and offerings and created the key foundation for continued future growth.”

Akerman LLP served as the legal advisor and Croft & Bender served as the financial advisor with respect to the transaction.

About Centre Lane Partners
Centre Lane is a private investment firm focused on executing private equity and private debt investments in North American middle market companies. Founded in 2007, Centre Lane brings thoughtful, flexible capital solutions and operational know-how to companies and complex situations in the middle market. For more information, visit https://www.centrelanepartners.com.

About Merit
Merit is a national distributor of paint sundries, flooring products, and related installation supplies with more than 30,000 SKUs from more than 600 manufacturers. Merit is a critical link in the supply chain with warehousing, inventory management, and overnight and next day fulfillment capabilities. Merit services its customers from 10 distribution centers and 23 branch locations.



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