OMERS Private Equity has signed an agreement to sell a majority interest in Caliber Collision Centers to funds affiliated with Hellman & Friedman (H&F). Caliber would then be merged with Abra Auto Body Repair of America, an H&F portfolio company, to form a collision repair network with more than 1,000 shops across 37 states and the District of Columbia.

Management plans to maintain all existing shops from both companies, as well as all employees in the field at both Caliber and Abra collision centers. Caliber CEO Steve Grimshaw will lead the combined company.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close early in 2019.

OMERS will retain an undisclosed “significant” minority investment in the combined company. OMERS has had a stake in Caliber since 2013, seeing the chain grow from 157 collision centers across five states to more than 630 shops in 19 states.

Leonard Green & Partners ( LGP), which owns a minority stake in Caliber, also will get an undisclosed “significant” minority stake in the combined company.

Jefferies LLC is financial advisor to both OMERS and LGP. BofA Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank Securities are financial advisors to H&F.