Welcome back to the buy side of the deals table, US LBM. After five years in which US LBM made 35 acquisitions for 262 facilities (and opened two dozen other locations), the construction supply giant went 11 months without buying anything. That streak ended on Oct. 4 with news of its purchase of Florida's Manning Building Supplies.
The purchase of one of the three remaining big lumberyards based in Florida (Tibbetts and RoMac are the others) continues US LBM's realignment of its Sunshine State properties. As the map above shows, US LBM this year has sold 26 gypsum specialty locations to ABC Supply's L&W Supply division--roughly half the 51 locations nationwide it has shed in 2023. Now, Manning's presence in North and Central Florida plus Palm Beach combines with Raymond Building Supply's footprint from Orlando through the Southwest to give US LBM a stake everywhere statewide except the Panhandle.
The news came shortly after Bloomberg quoted "people familiar with the matter" as saying Bain Capital is working with an advisor to potentially auction 49% of US LBM. The stake would be worth about $7 billion, Bloomberg said. US LBM posted $11.5 billion in sales in 2022, but that was when lumber prices were high and before US LBM sold nearly 50 gypsum yards. Bain took a majority stake in US LBM in November 2020.
US LBM's 8-unit Manning purchase was one of the biggest for a lumberyard so far this year, but it wasn't the biggest deal in construction supply since Labor Day. That honor goes to SRS Distribution, which bought Sunniland, a roofing company that also sells lawn chemicals. That's quite the two-fer for SRS, which has both roofing and landscaping divisions. By the way: 19 of Sunniland's 21 stores are in Florida, and the other two are just across the border in Georgia.
Meanwhile, Kodiak Building Partners dramatically beefed up its appliances division by buying Don's Appliances, a 13-unit operation centered in and around Pittsburgh.
Through Oct. 10, Webb Analytics has recorded 107 transactions for 376 construction supply locations. Another 163 stores have seen greenfield openings, and roughly 30 more are slated to take place by year-end. There also has come word of 33 store closures.
Among other notable actions since Sept. 1:
* Foundation Building Materials made three purchases, all but one gypsum specialists: the six-unit A&D Supply, the two-unit HBS Building Supplies, and the single-unit KCI Doors & Hardware.
* 84 Lumber's newest components plant has opened in Winter Haven, FL, and Carter Lumber did the same in Johnsonville, SC.
* Henery Hardware bought Hadlock Building Supply on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula, plus Deer Park (WA) Ace Hardware.
* Beacon acquired Gavin Construction Products, which has five stores from Massachusetts to Maryland.
* L&W Supply bought D&E Supply of Tulsa, OK.
* Iowa-based Spahn & Rose entered Alabama by buying City Lumber, based in fast-growing Huntsville.
* McCoy's Building Supply plans to open a new store in Lubbock, TX, by the end of November.
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