Carlyle led consortium to buy a majority stake in commodity firm Traxys Group

A consortium led by US private equity firm Carlyle Group has agreed to buy a majority stake in Luxembourg-based commodity firm Traxys Group for an undisclosed sum.

The consortium comprising of affiliates of Carlyle, Louis M. Bacon, the founder, chairman, CEO and principal investment manager of Moore Capital Management, and Traxys management are buying the stake from private equity firm Pegasus Capital Advisors, Kelso & Co and Resource Capital Funds.

With annual turnover of over $6 billion, Traxys, formed through the 2003 merger of metals marketing traders Sogem and Considar, a division of steel giant Arcelor (before it was acquired by Mittal Steel), is a physical metals and minerals commodity merchant, logistics and trading firm. 

Traxys is a provider of marketing, distribution and supply chain management services to the metals and natural resources sectors.  The company also provides value-added services to commodity producers and consumers including logistics, offtake, hedging, financing and distribution. 

Traxys also carries out direct investments in infrastructure assets and commodity producers that complement its core business activities.

Alan Docter, chairman of Traxys, said, ''This is an excellent time for us to move Traxys forward with Carlyle and Bacon.  Based on my decades of experience in the industry, I view this as a great opportunity and a perfect time to strengthen our capabilities and continue to grow and invest in Traxys for the future.  We are thankful to Pegasus Capital Advisors, Kelso & Company and Resource Capital Funds who have been great partners with us.''

''Traxys is a healthy and profitable business and a leader in the global metals and mining raw materials markets.  We have a strong management team and highly dedicated employees with extensive expertise, and we are grateful to them for their contributions to Traxys' success with our existing partners,'' said, Mark Kristoff, CEO of Traxys.