October M&A Roundup: Activity Heats Up

October M&A Roundup: Activity Heats Up

M&A activity kicked off the fourth quarter in style, as October registered the highest volume of distribution deals since before the pandemic. Here is our recap of the industry’s latest moves.
M&A Roundup October 202

The first month of the fourth quarter was a bright spot for wholesale distribution M&A. With the end of 2020 mercifully in sight, activity accelerated across the industry during October.

Deals unfolded in a variety of verticals — including building materials, safety, fasteners, industrial/MRO, plumbing, JanSan, electrical and others — and they came from a mix of large and small distributors alike.

The biggest transaction of the month — and one of the biggest of 2020 — occurred in mid-October when private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice closed on its $2.9 billion acquisition of White Cap, formerly a business division of HD Supply Holdings Inc. The deal was announced in August.

CD&R is now combining the business with Construction Supply Group to create a $4 billion-a-year distribution giant that will immediately rank in the Top 5 of MDM’s Market Leaders list for Building and Construction distributors and the Top 10 of our list of the 40 largest Industrial and Construction distributors.

October Deals

The White Cap/CSG deal was just one of the acquisitions that will shake up next year’s Market Leaders list. The month also saw Applied Industrial Technologies, BlackHawk Industrial, Endries, SRS Distribution and Winsupply announce acquisitions, while smaller independents made big moves as well.

Here are all the M&A announcements MDM covered during the previous month:

Did we miss anything? Please send M&A announcements to editor@mdm.com. We also welcome suggestions for “Behind the Deal,” our occasional series that takes a deep dive into market-shifting moves in wholesale distribution.

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