Optima Specialty Steel, Inc., a portfolio company of Optima Acquisitions, LLC, announced Wednesday the closing of its previously announced transaction with ALJ Regional Holdings, Inc. to acquire 100 percent of KES Acquisition Company dba Kentucky Electric Steel. All conditions of closing have been satisfied by both parties.

"We are very excited to close on our acquisition of KES," said Kevin Stevick, president and chief executive officer of Optima Specialty Steel. "We are thrilled to incorporate the company into the fold of Optima Specialty Steel, as this integration will enable us to further cement our position as an industry leader in the specialty steel market."

Optima said in a press release that KES is a value-added manufacturer of Special Bar Quality and Merchant Bar Quality flat steel products and has been a supplier to Optima Specialty Steel. Alongside its current wholly-owned subsidiaries Niagara LaSalle Corporation and Michigan Seamless Tube, LLC, Optima Specialty Steel's acquisition of KES contributes to its long-term strategy of further establishing itself as a leading player in the specialty steel market while providing unparalleled customer service.

KES currently manufactures over 2,600 different SBQ and MBQ items, which are sold to the leaf-spring suspension market for light and heavy-duty trucks, mini-vans and utility vehicles, cold drawn bar converters, certain specialty applications for steel service centers, truck trailer manufacturers and other miscellaneous markets.