January M&A Roundup: 2023 Kicks Off with Nearly 50 Deals - Modern Distribution Management

January M&A Roundup: 2023 Kicks Off with Nearly 50 Deals

The pace of M&A activity accelerated in January, as industrial distributors and manufacturers reported four-dozen deals to start the year.
Applied M&A blog

Maybe industrial distributors aren’t threatened by forecasts of a possible economic slowdown in 2023. Maybe we at MDM are just getting better about finding and reporting on mergers and acquisitions. Maybe companies have resolved — in the spirit of the new year — to finally close those deals that have been floating on their radars since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Whatever the reason, January was a banner month for M&A activity among industrial distributors and manufacturers.

During the month, MDM reported 48 mergers and acquisitions, the highest in recent memory since we reported 34 during December 2020. One thing that boosted the M&A count for the month: Several companies announced multiple acquisitions at a time, apparently wasting no time in the new year to complete those aforementioned acquisitions. Before 2023 was barely a week old, Beacon announced deals with Whitney Building Products and First Coastal Exteriors. Air Conditioning Specialist, Inc. announced acquisitions in North Carolina and Tennessee, while generators distributor GenServe acquired both Illini Power Products and Gen-Power. M&A regular Envoy Solutions also reported acquiring Delta Packaging & Supply and Royal Paper. For its part, MSC Industrial Supply reported a pair of acquisitions in Ohio: Buckeye Industrial Supply and Tru-Edge Grinding. Not to be outdone, Rexel and Rexel USA announced a combined three acquisitions during the month.

(Read more about all the January deals below, and click here to listen to MDM CEO Tom Gale and Day1 Ready Founder Jennifer Fondrevay talk about why communication is critical to M&A success.)

January M&A

These are the M&A announcements — primarily involving distributors, but also manufacturers that sell through the channel — that MDM covered during January 2023 (click the headline for more details):

  • AFC Industries Acquires Motor City Industrial — Bertram Capital-backed AFC Industries announced Jan. 16 that it has acquired fellow Hazel Park, Michigan-based Motor City Industrial — a like distributor of fastener products and class-C components.
  • AIM MRO Acquires Surface Coatings Supplier Tribologix — AIM MRO Holdings, a manufacturer and supply chain manager of highly engineered consumable repair products and materials used primarily in the aerospace aftermarket, announced Jan. 17 that it has acquired Tribologix, a provider of engineered surface coatings solutions.
  • Badger Meter Acquires Syrinix in U.K. — Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Badger Meter, Inc. — a manufacturer of flow measurement, control and communications solutions — announced Jan. 5 the acquisition of Syrinix, Ltd., a privately held provider of intelligent water monitoring solutions, for £15 million (approximately $18.25 million USD).
  • Beacon Starts New Year with Two Acquisitions — Virginia-based roofing and building products distributor Beacon has kicked off the new year by announcing two acquisitions less than a day apart.
  • Belt Power Acquires Dunham Rubber & Belting in Indiana — Marietta, Georgia-based Belt Power, LLC — a full-service distributor and fabricator of belting and components for lightweight conveyor systems — announced Jan. 3 that it has completed its acquisition of Dunham Rubber & Belting Corporation.
  • BradyIFS Acquires Chicago-Based YPV Distribution — On Jan. 12, the Bell, California-based distributor of foodservice disposables and JanSan products said that it has acquired Elk Grove Village, Illinois-based YPV Distribution — a like distributor of foodservice and JanSan products serving the greater Chicagoland region since 2007.
  • Crosby Group, Kito Corp. Complete Lifting & Rigging Merger — On Jan. 30 — more than 250 days after a merger agreement was first announced — Texas-based lifting and rigging company The Crosby Group said it has finally combined its business with the Kito Corporation, a Japan-based material handling manufacturer of hoists and cranes.
  • Distributor Air Conditioning Specialist Expands in NC, TN — Air Conditioning Specialist, Inc., a Hidden Harbor Capital Partners portfolio company that provides HVAC and plumbing installation and services, announced Jan. 18 that is has acquired companies in North Carolina and Tennessee.
  • Envoy Solutions Acquires Delta Packaging & Supply in MS — Illinois-based JanSan, foodservice and packaging supplies distributor Envoy Solutions announced Jan. 6 that it has acquired Flowood, Mississippi-based Delta Packaging & Supply.
  • Envoy Solutions Acquires Royal Paper in SoCal — On Jan. 23, the company announced it had acquired Santa Fe Springs, California-based Royal Paper Corp., a national distributor of paper, plastics, cleaning and safety consumables, as well as equipment in janitorial, sanitary and foodservice applications.
  • ERIKS Acquires Canada-Based Fluid Power Supplier DeeTag — Fluid and material conveyance solutions distributor ERIKS North America announced Jan. 11 its acquisition of DeeTag Ltd., a manufacturer and distributor of hydraulic and industrial hose assemblies.

MDM’s M&A Virtual Summit, to be held Feb. 21-22, has something to offer for any distributor on the dealmaking spectrum. We’ll cover the current state of M&A; how to maximize valuation; integration do’s and don’ts; ESOPs; the culture side of the M&A process; and more. Get details and register here.

See MDM’s Investment Bank Directory for a rundown of the key investment banks and advisory firms in the distribution sector.

Related Posts

Share this article

About the Author
Recommended Reading
Leave a Reply

Leave a Comment

Sign Up for the MDM Update Newsletter

The MDM update newsletter is your best source for news and trends in the wholesale distribution industry.

Get the MDM Update Newsletter

Wholesale distribution news and trends delivered right to your inbox.

Sign-up for our free newsletter and get:

  • Up-to-date news in a quick-to-read format
  • Free access to webcasts, podcasts and live events
  • Exclusive whitepapers, research and reports
  • And more!

2

articles left

Want more Premium content from MDM?

Subscribe today and get:

  • New issues twice each month
  • Unlimited access to mdm.com, including 10+ years of archived data
  • Current trends analysis, market data and economic updates
  • Discounts on select store products and events

Subscribe to continue reading

MDM Premium Subscribers get:

  • Unlimited access to MDM.com
  • 1 year digital subscription, with new issues twice a month
  • Trends analysis, market data and quarterly economic updates
  • Deals on select store products and events

1

article
left

You have one free article remaining

Subscribe to MDM Premium to get unlimited access. Your subscription includes:

  • Two new issues a month
  • Access to 10+ years of archived data on mdm.com
  • Quarterly economic updates, trends analysis and market data
  • Store and event discounts

To continue reading, you must be an MDM Premium subscriber.

Join other distribution executives who use MDM Premium to optimize their business. Our insights and analysis help you enter the right new markets, turbocharge your sales and marketing efforts, identify business partners that help you scale, and stay ahead of your competitors.

Register for full access

By providing your email, you agree to receive announcements from us and our partners for our newsletter, events, surveys, and partner resources per MDM Terms & Conditions. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Learn More about Custom Reports

Request a Market Prospector Demo

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.