Athens company Power Partners has been sold to a global private equity firm, according to a Thursday announcement.

PPI, Power Partners’ parent company, signed an agreement for the sale to OpenGate Capital, a firm that manages a portfolio of companies, including a distribution transformer company based in Oregon. The transaction is expected to close by Friday.

“Our mission nearly 13 years ago when we purchased Power Partners was to grow the company, retain existing jobs, and add new ones. That mission has not changed,” said Steve Hollis, PPI co-owner and chairman, in a news release. “The 55-year old plant needs capital investment to take it to the next level, and OpenGate Capital has the skills and resources to make that happen.”

According to a news release, the decision to sell was a year-long process of “defining strategy and conducting research to assure that PPI is doing the best thing for our customers, employees and the company.”

“It’s clear to us that they have a growth strategy for Power Partners. They have done this successfully in our industry before, and they are excited about doing it with Power Partners,” said Luke Faulstick, PPI co-owner and CEO.

PPI is working with OpenGate Capital to help them develop relationships with employees, customers, suppliers, and the community.

“Our fondest hope is that very soon people will say what they said when we began to partner with Power Partners, which is ‘when PPI took over, the only thing that changed with the business performance was that the metrics got better.’ We truly want them to go to the next level,” said Hollis and Faulstick.

Power Partners is a leading manufacturer of overhead distribution transformers in North America, Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and other markets, according to its website. More than 8.5 million transformers have been produced at the Power Partners’ plant in Athens.