M&A activity involving BMC and US LBM has dominated the deals news since shortly before Thanksgiving, while SRS Distribution's Heritage Landscape Supply Group pushed its total location count to more than 100 in just 22 months of existence.
All told, 38 facilities have been involved in acquisitions, greenfield openings, and closures just since Nov. 15. Year to date, there have been 208 yards that were part of deals, 53 greenfield openings, and 25 closures. Here's a roundup of what has taken place recently:
* Even as it prepares to merge with Builders FirstSource and take that company's name, BMC continued its long-stated intent to increase sales to remodelers and small builders. It did that by acquiring TW Perry, which serves the Washington, DC, area. BMC added 10 locations, one of which was the home of Peoples Supply until TW Perry bought that Hyattsville, MD, operation on Nov. 2.
* US LBM, recently acquired by a unit of private equity firm Bain Capital, purchased Tri-County Building Supplies, a five-unit operation in southern New Jersey, and folded it into its Universal Supply division. Universal also opened a greenfield branch in Yeadon, PA.
* US LBM also bought Ridgefield (CT) Supply.
* Fulcrum Building Group may be headquartered in Southern California, but its focus remains on the Gulf Coast. It bought Ford Lumber & Millwork, which has stores in Mobile, Robertsdale, and Daphne, AL.
* ABC Supply's drywall specialist, L&W Supply, purchased Coastal Building Materials of Cape Coral FL, and opened a greenfield yard in Nashville, TN. Meanwhile, ABC Supply opened a new facility of its own in Quincy, MA.
* Heritage Landscape Supply group topped the 100-location mark by taking over two companies in one day: REAMS Sprinkler Supply, based in Lincoln, NE, with a total of eight locations in that state, Iowa, and Missouri; and Irrigation Station, with locations in Houston and Oklahoma City. In addition, Heritage opened a new branch of its consumer-oriented HLS Outdoor stores in Wichita, KS.
* Lumbery opened in Cape Elizabeth, ME. This startup specializes in wood products from Maine.
* Gillman Home Center opened a new location in Gas City, IN.
* Beacon Building Products opened a new facility in Denton, TX.
* Bryan and Char Herrera, who already own a Colorado business called the Home Store, bought the Holyoke (CO) General Store and will rename it as the Home Store of Holyoke.
* New Castle (DE) Paint and Hardware announced it plans to close by Dec. 31.
* An unnamed building material operation in northeastern Missouri with annual gross revenues of $3.8 million and cash flow of $226,000 has put itself up for sale. Its asking price is $999,000, which includes $551,000 in inventory and $298,054 in equipment.