July 25, 2006

Wolseley has agreed to acquire DT Group, a distributor of building materials with operations in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway, from CVC Capital Partners for 1.498 billion euros, or $2.48 billion, including the assumption of net debt. The acquisition will be financed using debt. About 80% of DT Group’s sales are through builders’ merchants to trade professionals, […]

More …Two subsidiaries of massive building materials supplier Pro-Build Holdings have announced acquisitions. Brooklyn, NY-based Strober Building Supply has purchased millwork and kitchen specialist Rowley Building Products, Middleton, NY, and its sister company, construction financing business Builder’s Capital LLC. The Contractor Yard, Charlotte, NC, acquired Building Materials Wholesale/Retail Inc., a supplier of drywall and related

May 2006 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices were $325.5 billion, up 1.6 percent from the revised April level and were up 12.1 percent from the May 2005 level. May sales of durable goods increased 2.6 percent from last month and were up 10.9 percent from a year ago. Sales of

Citing high debt levels and rising prices for aluminum and other raw materials, Werner Co., Greenville, PA, and its affiliated companies have filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection.Werner is a global manufacturer and distributor of ladders, climbing equipment and ladder accessories.In papers filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, Werner reported audited net sales of

of the mind to convert to NetSuite or any other suite, the starting point is your basic data. Your start-up is only as good as that data."   As a smaller distributor, you don't need a host of workers focused on IT. But you do need at least one person (for Knox, it's his daughter,

double Rexel’s revenues in the U.S. consistent with Rexel’s strategy to build a stronger platform here. “That will make us more important to our customers and hopefully to our vendors as well,” Waterman said.GE Supply reported $2.2 billion in pro forma annual sales; Rexel posted $2.5 billion in U.S. sales in 2005. By comparison, WESCO

half a dozen major stresses that must be addressed if the company is to move forward. The company's playing field may be rapidly changing due to competitors' moves, and possibly due to the distributor's own failure to make necessary moves. For distributors these moves often involve key sales people moving from company to company, major

Building Materials Holding Corporation, San Francisco, CA, a provider of construction services and building materials to professional residential builders and contractors, reported sales for the second quarter of 2006 increased 31% to $922 million from $702 million in the same quarter a year ago. For the six months ended June 30, 2006, sales increased 42%