Hillman Is Said to Reach Deal With Tilman Fertitta’s Landcadia SPAC

(Bloomberg) -- Construction hardware supplier Hillman Group Inc. has struck a $2.64 billion deal to merge with Landcadia Holdings III Inc., a blank-check firm led by Houston Rockets billionaire owner Tilman Fertitta and Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Investors led by Wells Capital Management and a fund managed by Columbia Threadneedle Investments will contribute $375 million in equity to support the transaction, according to a statement Monday that confirmed a Bloomberg News report.

Cincinnati-based Hillman makes fasteners and other home improvement products. It has relationships with more than 38,000 companies, including Lowe’s Cos. and Home Depot Inc., according to its website. Private equity firm CCMP bought the company in 2014 from another such firm for $1.5 billion, according to a statement at the time.

CCMP will remain the largest holder in the company, the statement said.

“We looked at our options and obviously, private equity was an option, and we felt that this SPAC route was also an option,” Hillman Chief Executive Officer Doug Cahill said in an interview. “That could get us to market quicker.”

He also said the company was set to benefit from a shift in how people think of their residences, now that so many are working from home.

“It’s gone from a place where people would eat, sleep and watch TV -- now it’s school, it’s an office, it’s entertainment, it’s recreation,” he said. “We’ve always been focused on repair and remodel. We think the trends are very positive as we think forward.”

Landcadia Holdings III Inc. raised $500 million last year to pursue a transaction in any industry. Fertitta is the SPAC’s chief executive and Jefferies CEO Rich Handler is president, with both men serving as co-chairmen. Jefferies is a co-sponsor of the SPAC.

Fertitta, who has been involved in two other Landcadia SPACs, is in talks to take his casino and restaurant empire public through a merger with Fast Acquisition Corp., Bloomberg News has reported.

(Updates to say deal is confirmed in first paragraph)