Capitol Broadcasting Company has acquired a “substantial interest” in Morrisville-based Professional Builders Supply as the privately held company continues to diversify its holdings.
CBC, which is the parent company of WRAL.com and WRAL TechWire, and PBS announced the deal early Thursday.
PBS distributes building materials in several markets across the Carolinas. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This investment continues a tradition of diversification at CBC,” explained James Goodmon, Jr., vice president for CBC. “Without question our roots are in broadcasting, but over the years we’ve expanded our portfolio with properties like the Durham Bulls, The American Tobacco Historic District and Rocky Mount Mills. PBS is a highly-successful, growing company with a great reputation for customer service and community involvement. That’s exactly the type of operation we want as part of CBC.”
PBS Chief Executive Officer Van Isley retains equity in the firm along with Chief Financial Officer Steve Lochbaum and Troy Wilkerson, the president for PBS in Wilmington.
Through the investment, PBS noted that non-employee investors in the company were able to sell their holdings.
“When we embarked upon the process of identifying a partner that would allow us to accomplish several objectives, including providing a well-deserved exit for our non-employee minority investors, allowing the three employee investors to diversify our net worth, ensuring a stable future for our associates and positioning the company for additional growth, we could not have written a better script,” Isley said in a statement. “We are extremely excited about partnering with the CBC team and the Goodmon family whom we have known and respected for many years.”
PBS has 285 employees across operations in Morrisville, Wake Forest, Charlotte, Wilmington and Charleston, S.C. The company launched in 2003.
CBC traces its roots back to 1937 as a broadcasting company.
Its current operations include: WRAL-TV, WRAL Digital, WRAZ-TV, WRAZ Digital, WRAL-FM, WRAL-HD2, WCMC-FM, WCMC-HD1, WDNC-AM, WCMC-HD2, WCMC-HD3, WCLY-AM, WCMC-HD4, Microspace, CBC New Media Group and Wolfpack Sports Properties (a joint venture with Learfield) in Raleigh, N.C.; WILM-TV, WILT-LD and Sunrise Broadcasting in Wilmington, N.C.; The Durham Bulls Baseball Club, Bull City Hospitality and Bull Durham Beer Co. in Durham, N.C.; and real estate interests including the American Tobacco Project and Diamond View office buildings in Durham, N.C., and Rocky Mount Mills in Rocky Mount, N.C.
