Coronavirus news has pushed aside many of the usual headlines in LBM these past two months, but one announcement from back on March 16 bears remembering: Lansing Building Product's acquisition of Harvey Building Products. The deal united the 13th- and 15th-biggest companies on the current ProSales 100 to create construction supply's newest billion-dollar company.
The combined business operates 113 branches in 35 states and bolsters Lansing's status as one of the nation's biggest specialty dealers. Aside from providing new distribution facilities to the Lansing network, Harvey also will continue to make its own branded doors and windows. Given that Harvey operated mainly in New York and New England, the deal particularly boosts Lansing's presence in the Northeast. The deal also continues New England's status as an M&A hotspot, as it follows a flurry of deals last month in Vermont.
Lansing's purchase also marks the arrival of Markel Ventures, a financial holding company that has acquired a majority interest in family-owned Lansing. President and CEO Hunter Lansing noted that Markel is a buy-and-hold company, not having sold a single business in its portfolio in over 15 years. "Today, we have the opportunity to create the next generation of success--where what it means to be a family business remains at our core," Hunter Lansing wrote in a company announcement.
As of May 6, we now have a total of 116 locations that have (or in the case of four locations, plan to) changed hands, closed, or opened as a greenfield site so far this year. That trails the 136 locations tracked by this point in 2019.
There's not that much difference in the number of locations involved in acquisitions (98 this year, 85 at this point in 2019) or closures (12 vs. 17), but this year has seen only 15 greenfield openings while last year there were 34. Given how COVID-19 has ravaged the economy, it now appears unlikely we'll see in 2020 anything close to the 103 greenfield openings the LBM industry recorded in all 2019.
Here's a roundup of notable activity since late February:
Builders FirstSource in April closed yards in Algona and Storm Lake, IA.
TAL Holdings bought Lake Chelan Building Supply in Washington state. TAL plans to close its Marson & Marson yard in Chelan, WA, and merge it with the Lake Chelan Building Supply facility in the same city.
Zuern Building Products acquired Window Design Center, which has branches in Madison and Delafield, WI.
Galliher & Huguely of Washington, DC, closed. Its yard in Washington was shuttered permanently, while its Chevy Chase, MD, showroom was acquired by Baltimore-based National Lumber.
Drexel Building Supply acquired Blenker Cos. and will merge Drexel's Truss Systems subsidiary to create a new venture called Drexel Systems. Blenker Construction will remain separate.
Nation's Best Holdings bought Bridgeport Building Centers, which has yards under various names in Bridgeport, Springtown, Alvord, Jacksboro, and West Tawakoni, TX.
ABC Supply bought Exterior Building Supply of Meridian, ID.
Mans Lumber acquired Legendary Millwork, based in Troy, MI.
Kesley (IA) Lumber was purchased by local resident Jacob Ackerman.
The Lester Group opened in Christiansburg, VA, a new branch of its New River Building Supply stores.
Heritage Landscape Supply Group, a division of SRS Distribution, launched a new, consumer-oriented store called HLS Outdoor in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park, MN.
Anawalt Lumber plans to open a new location in Pacific Palisades, CA, that previously was occupied by the now-closed Norris Hardware.
Hartville Hardware expanded to a third location with its acquisition of Centerra Hardware & Lumber Center of Middlefield, OH.
84 Lumber is on track to open a components plant in Mansfield, OH.
Bloedorn Lumber closed its North Platte, NE, location.
Granville (OH) Lumber went out of business.
Williams Lumber & Home Centers shuttered its store in Hyde Park, N.Y.
Trio Home Center of Ellis, KS, closed.
B.L. Ogilvie & Sons in Weston, MA, closed.
Chino (CA) Lumber closed.
Several unnamed lumberyards are using auction pages to sell themselves:
A dealer for sale in New York State reports $5.2 million in annual gross revenue and $580,000 in cash flow. It's asking $1.8 million, including $725,000 in furnishings, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) and $430,000 on roughly 10 acres of real estate.
A nearly 70-year-old lumberyard in Brush, CO, has $4.06 million in gross revenue and cash flow of $397,000. It's asking $1.995 million, including $600,000 in inventory, $275,000 in FF&E, and $1 million for 2.6 acres of real estate.
In Upper Darby, PA, the real estate appears to be a main attraction in the sale notice for a company with cash flow of $2.5 million. Its $2 million asking price includes $1.5 million in real estate and $100,000 in FF&E.
Another company in western Montana has annual gross revenue of $170,000 and an asking price of $850,000.
In Clare, MI, a lumberyard with $1.5 million in gross revenue is for sale. No asking price was disclosed.
In northeastern Missouri, a 74-year-old company with just under $4 million in revenue, cash flow of $271,200 and EBITDA of $214,450 is on sale for $999,000. That price includes $550,946 in inventory and $298,054 in FF&E.
A building supply store in eastern South Dakota with gross revenue of $986,194 and cash flow of $207,146 is on sale for $495,000. That price includes $100,000 in inventory, $85,000 in FF&E, and $250,000 in real estate.