Centerbridge Partners Considers Selling Reddy Ice

(Bloomberg) -- Centerbridge Partners is considering options including a potential sale for packaged ice company Reddy Ice Holdings Inc., according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The New York-based private equity firm is working with an adviser on possibly starting a sale process in the second half of the year, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. No final decision has been made and Centerbridge could decide to keep the ice maker and distributor, the people said.

Representatives for Centerbridge and Dallas-based Reddy Ice declined to comment.

Centerbridge took a stake in Reddy Ice through a recapitalization, after the company filed for bankruptcy in 2012, according to its website. The company appointed Deborah Conklin as chief executive officer in 2017, with Bill Corbin becoming chairman.

Reddy Ice, which traces its origins back to 1927, competes with companies including Arctic Glacier, which was purchased in 2017 by Carlyle Group LP’s long-dated fund, which aims to hold companies for more than a buyout firm’s typical five-year time horizon.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kiel Porter in Chicago at kporter17@bloomberg.net;Gillian Tan in New York at gtan129@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Fournier at efournier5@bloomberg.net, ;Alan Goldstein at agoldstein5@bloomberg.net, Michael Hytha, Matthew Monks

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