September M&A Recap: Sonepar’s Summit Grab Leads the Way

Industrial distribution dealmaking activity posted another solid month in September 2024, though down sequentially and from a more robust spring/summer.

MDM published news of 27 different transactions — either pending or completed — in September that involved at least one distributor in industrial, commercial and building supply verticals. While that trailed August’s 36 and July’s 31, it was another solid month of dealmaking by recent historical standards. A year earlier, September 2023 had only 18 M&A items in our news coverage.

September 2024 pushed MDM’s year-to-date count up to 261 through nine months for an average of 29 deals per month, meaning this past month was slightly below the year’s average. That year-to-date activity is far ahead of the 23.2 monthly average through the first nine months of 2023.

Here’s how distributor deal activity has looked like since the start of 2023, according to MDM news coverage of such items per month:

September’s activity was highlighted by Sonepar sharing Sept. 4 that it will acquire fellow large distributor Summit Electric Supply in a move that will combine the Nos. 2 and 21 Top Distributors on MDM’s 2024 Electrical/Data/Security List. It will gain Sonepar 23 branch locations in the U.S. southwest and more than 700 associates.

That was the only major splash move announced in September, while other major distributors including Beacon, DSG, Builders FirstSource, Bossard, White Cap, Veritiv, and US LBM also made moves.

Find our rundown of September distributor M&A news below, mostly in reverse chronological order.

MDM’s September 2024 M&A New Coverage

(click links to view news brief)

Switzerland-based Bossard acquired France-based Aero Negoce International SAS to bolster its aerospace market presence.

Fuels and lubricants distributor Waring Oil Company acquired Lavigne Oil Company of Baton Rouge. 

Rotunda Capital Partners invested in Houston-based Mama Lycha Foods, a distributor of branded Latin American food and beverage products, in collaboration with the Padilla family.  

Material handling equipment distributor Big Lift and its subsidiaries Big Joe Forklifts and EP North America opened a new headquarters in Deforest, WI. 

Plumbing, HVAC, electrical, fasteners and hardware distributor VP Supply acquired Smyrna, TN-based Exterior Wholesale Supply, a distributor of building products and installation services. 

Disconnect switchgear, porcelain, glass insulators and instrument transformers distributor Power Grid Components acquired Port Chester, NY-based plant hardware distributor Allied Bolt.

Houston-based steel products distributor Triple-S Steel Holdings, Inc. acquired Burbank, CA-based Borrmann Metals, a West Coast distributor of steeling materials including tube and pipe, plate, merchant bar and nonferrous products. 

Specialty construction supplies and safety product distributor White Cap acquired Indianapolis, IN-based Jobsite Supply, a concrete accessories and shoring solutions provider. 

Canadian-based industrial distribution group Ficodis — owned by France-based Descours & Cabaud — acquired Whippany, NJ-based roller bearings, mechanical seals and bearings manufacturer and distributor Berliss Bearing Company. 

Roofing and other building materials distributor Beacon acquired Chicago Metal Supply & Fabrication — a family-owned business specializing in custom architectural sheet metal fabrication. 

Minnesota-based electrical distributor DSG acquired Tech Component Resources, a Singapore-based distributor of fasteners, mechanical components and other industrial products, completed on Sept. 24.  

Fasteners distributor Field Fastener acquired Cascade Nut and Bolt, a distributor of standard and metric fasteners, including all grades and materials. 

Workflow solutions conglomerate Fortive Corp. is spinning off its precision technologies segment. This will create two separate, publicly-traded companies, each with focused business models and distinct approaches to investment and capital allocation. 

Retail, manufacturing and distribution conglomerate Houchens Industries acquired H.H. Barnum Co., a distributor of controls for factory and warehouse automation. 

Building materials distributor Builders FirstSource acquired Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-based custom cabinetry manufacturer and installer Sunrise Wood Designs.

Nashville, TN-based HVAC equipment, parts and supplies distributor Team Air Distributing acquired Kentucky-based HVAC distributor Best Choice Supply and was awarded new territories from its OEM partner American Standard announced on Sept. 18. 

Building materials distributor US LBM acquired Breckenridge, CO-based window and door distributor and installer Gregory Door & Window completed on Sept. 5 and Fort Worth, TX-based Nix Door & Hardware — a window, door and fireplace distributor and installer of windows, doors and fireplaces completed on Sept. 9.  

Forklifts, cranes and other material handling products distributor Wolter Inc. acquired Atlanta, GA-based Dedicated Material Handling Solutions, a material handling solution distributor. 

Electrical distributor Sonepar is set to acquire Albuquerque, NM-based Summit Electric Supply in a move that will gain Sonepar 23 branch locations in the U.S. Southwest and more than 700 associates. 

Fluid solutions distributor TIPCO Technologies acquired San Diego, CA-based industrial supplies distributor Charter Industrial Supply.  

Packaging supplies manufacturer and distributor Vertitiv is set to acquire the North American unit of Orora Group — Buena Park, CA-based Orora Packaging Solutions — for $1.2 billion USD.  

Electrical supply distributor Cape Electrical Supply — a wholly owned subsidiary of Graybar — acquired Chattanooga, TN-based electric utility distributor Power Supply Company. 

Houston-based pumping solutions and industrial supplies distributor DXP Enterprises acquired Tomball, TX-based pumps, controls and process equipment manufacturer representative Hartwell Environmental Corporation. 

Santa Ana, CA-based building materials distributor Foundation Building Materials acquired Pennsauken, NJ-based doors and hardware building distributor Unified. 

North Wilkesboro, NC-based building materials distributor ECMD acquired Louisville, KY-based Falls City Lumber, a board, pattern stock, fiber cement and PVC products distributor. 

Private equity firm Rotunda Capital Partners has invested in Miami, FL-based PFV distributor Lehman Pipe and Supply.

What’d We Miss?

Of course, the list above doesn’t encompass every M&A deal announced during September for relevant distributors. There will always be deals that weren’t on our radar. If you don’t see one here you think should be included, please let us know at editor@mdm.com.

• Here’s our 2Q24 M&A Report (Premium)
• Here’s our 1Q24 M&A Report (Premium)
• Here’s our August M&A Roundup
• Here’s our July M&A Roundup
• Here’s our June M&A Roundup

Stay tuned! Our 3Q24 M&A Report will look to publish by late October.