Exponent announces acquisition of Optimas International
3 February 2026, LONDON, DUBLIN – Exponent, a leading European private equity firm, has today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Optimas International (or “the Company”), a leading global distributor of mission-critical fasteners and c-class components supplying blue-chip OEM customers across a range of industrial end-markets. The transaction is a carve-out from Optimas Solutions and remains subject to the finalisation of the appropriate employee representative processes and the standard regulatory approvals.
Optimas International is a leading provider of fasteners, c-class components, and supply chain services into Europe and Asia, headquartered in Gloucester, UK. The company helps its customers to streamline their supply chains through managing the sourcing, storage, and delivery of essential fasteners and related components. The business’s value-added services across engineering support, product design and quality assurance help customers to reduce costs, solve technical problems and ensure quality across their production processes.
The proposed transaction will see the International operations carved-out from its US-headquartered parent. Today, the business serves c.1,500 customers globally across multiple production sites and geographies and has an average 20-year tenure with its top customers, reflecting excellent service levels and high customer satisfaction. Optimas supplies over 2.2 billion parts per year across c.40,000 SKUs, sourced from c.1,200 suppliers.
Exponent is partnering with the incumbent management team of Optimas International, led by Chief Executive Mike Tuffy. Exponent has appointed Axel Gränitz who will join the board as Chair. Axel has worked with a number of relevant PE-backed businesses such as Infravadis and Polygon and will bring extensive industrial and operational experience.
Exponent will partner with Optimas International’s management to accelerate organic growth through investment in commercial and operational capabilities, alongside selective M&A opportunities to broaden the offering and better serve existing and new customers across their supply chain requirements.
Tim Easingwood, Partner at Exponent, said: “We see a compelling opportunity in our partnership with Optimas International, which is well established as a key global supplier to many leading industrial manufacturers in Europe and Asia. The business is well positioned for accelerated growth under our ownership, underpinned by its strong customer supplier relationships, a differentiated value proposition, and disciplined operational execution. We also see the potential to further scale the platform through M&A in a highly fragmented market. We look forward to working with Mike, his team and Axel on this exciting next phase of growth for Optimas International.”
Mike Tuffy, CEO of Optimas International, said: “The decision to transition Optimas International to a standalone business reflects our success and positions us for a future of enhanced innovation, customer service, and sustainable growth. We are delighted to have the support of Exponent, whose expertise and resources will help us achieve our ambitious goals.”
This marks Exponent’s ninth corporate carve-out over the last decade. Exponent has deep experience in the services sector through its investments including V Group (marine services), Pattonair (aerospace supply chain management services), Enva (environmental services), Isio (pension and benefits advice), Xeinadin (accountancy services), and H&MV (engineering services), and more recently Ethos (data centre design services).