Seal Beach-based Baker Tanks Inc. is trading hands again.
Private equity firm Lightyear Capital LLC said Tuesday it plans to buy Baker Tanks from Chicago-based Code Hennessy & Simmons. Investment banking news site TheDeal.com said the deal was for more than $500 million.
Code Hennessy bought Baker Tanks for $275 million in early 2004 from Chicago’s Pritzker family. Blackstone Group LP and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners reportedly contributed $77.5 million in the deal.
Baker Tanks rents huge tanks to oil refineries and chemical plants among others.
The deal must be approved by regulators and is expected to close by the end of the year.
New York-based Lightyear Capital led a group of investors in the deal, including Canadian pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, Goldman Sachs Mezzanine Partners III and Baker Tanks’ management.
Late last year Baker Tanks Inc. bought Torrance-based Cameron Environmental Inc., a maker of air and water treatment gear, for undisclosed terms.
The lure was Cameron’s water and air filtration technology, which Baker Tanks pairs with its 21,000-gallon tanks.
Baker has more than 70 U.S. locations, mostly in the West. Baker also has operations in Mexico and Canada.
It’s not unusual for Baker to rent 100 tanks to a customer at a time. Tanks typically go for $35 to $45 a day.
The company delivers and sets up the tanks, which can hold water or hazardous liquids. Baker also rents pumps to get the liquid in and out of the tanks.
