Harvest Partners Inc., a New York private equity investment firm, has signed a definitive agreement to sell Edgen Corp., a Baton Rouge, La.-based distributor of carbon and alloy pipe, to Jefferies Capital Partners, New York, and certain Edgen senior managers, for $124 million.

Harvest sponsored the 1996 management buyout of Edgen, known at the time as Thomas Pipe & Steel, as a platform to become a large carbon steel and alloy pipe and components distributor. Harvest and its co-investors provided capital for seven additional acquisitions that allowed Edgen to broaden its product offerings and establish a global presence. Edgen now has 17 locations in the United States, Canada and Scotland.

“We have achieved our goal of building Edgen's distribution business platform and now is the logical time in our investment cycle to exit,” says Ira Kleinman, senior managing director at Harvest.

Dan O'Leary, CEO of Edgen, says that in spite of difficult market conditions over the last few years, the company has been able to increase its market share and achieve significant growth. “We feel strongly that we will continue to create and capitalize on future opportunities with Jefferies Capital as our partner.”