There were several reasons why private equity-backed Shale-Inland, a metals service center, wanted to buy HD Supply's Industrial PVF division when it came up for sale. The opportunity to acquire an incredible management team, improve the company's national footprint and acquire more than 6,000 customers worldwide – "It was like tripping over a gigantic jewel on the sidewalk," Shale-Inland CEO Craig T. Bouchard told me in an interview.
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HD Supply announced this week that it would be selling its industrial PVF business to Shale-Inland; together the annual revenue will be about $1 billion, Bouchard said.
The IPVF business of HD Supply complements Shale-Inland well by filling in some product holes. Shale-Inland sells sheet metal to a variety of end-customers. But what it didn't have is plate metals; something a smaller division within HD Supply's IPVF business called Metals Inc. focuses on.
In addition, the acquisition will provide Shale-Inland an inroad to the energy markets – a segment identified by Bouchard as essential.
"It's been a vision of Shale-Inland," Bouchard says. "And this deal moves us further along toward that vision."
An analysis of the deal, including more from Bouchard and HD Supply, will be featured in the March 25, 2012, issue of MDM Premium. (Not a subscriber? Subscribe today.)
