PLATINUM EQUITY takes majority stake in YAK ACCESS

Platinum Equity announced on 30 July 2018 the acquisition of a majority stake in Yak Access from Jones Companies and Beasley Forest Products. The two sellers kept a minority holding through a joint venture and stayed actively involved in the business, while chief executive Jonathan Duhon remained in post. The financial terms were not made public. At the time of the deal, Yak Access was based in Columbia, Mississippi, and brought together three related businesses, Yak Mat, New South Access and Environmental Solutions, and BluRoc. It supplied hardwood mats, temporary and permanent access roads, site evaluation, the design and installation of access plans and mat removal, mainly to oil and gas pipeline and powerline customers, through a nationwide network positioned within 200 miles of most planned powerline and pipeline projects. Platinum Equity partner Jacob Kotzubei described Yak Access as a scalable platform with room to grow organically and through add-on acquisitions, while Jones Companies chief executive Jonathan Jones said the business would benefit from the firm’s financial, operational and M&A resources. Beasley Forest Products chief executive Darrell Beasley pointed to the manufacturing plants and service locations the two families had built over more than 40 years, which allowed them to supply mats close to any project site. Platinum Equity sold Yak to United Rentals in March 2024, after six years of ownership.