In a year that has seen one sector or another – most notably building materials – take turns dominating distribution M&A activity, October featured remarkable parity with 12 sectors registering acquisitions.
Industrial, electrical and building materials were among the most active, but deals also occurred in fasteners, power transmission & bearings, jan-san, chemicals & plastics, HVAC and others.
In the industrial sector, three companies on MDM's 2015 Market Leaders top 40 industrial distributors list made acquisitions, led by No. 11 Applied Industrial Technologies. The Cleveland, OH-based company acquired S. G. Morris Co., a distributor of fluid power components and provider of engineered fluid power systems that will operate as a subsidiary of Applied under the name S. G. Morris Co. LLC.
BlackHawk Industrial, Broken Arrow, OK, distributor of metalworking and industrial supplies and No. 27 on MDM’s list of the top 40 industrial distributors, acquired metalworking distributor Specialty Tool Inc., Rock Hill, SC.
And industrial equipment service provider and distributor Ohio Transmission Corp., Columbus, OH, was acquired by private equity firm Irving Place Capital. One of OTC's divisions is OTP Industrial Solutions, which provides solutions for industrial motion control, fluid power, power transmission and pumping systems, and is No. 38 on MDM's 2015 top 40 industrial distributors list.
Also, Newell Rubbermaid, Atlanta, GA, agreed to acquire activity-based adhesive and cutting products provider Elmer’s Products Inc. from an affiliate of investment management company Berwind Corp. for $600 million.
In the electrical sector, three companies on MDM's 2015 Market Leaders top 25 electrical distributors list made deals. Paris-based electrical distributor Rexel, No. 5 on the list, acquired Sofinther, a Nantes, France-based distributor that specializes in thermal, heating and control solutions.
No. 6 Consolidated Electrical Distributors, Irving, TX, acquired SEFCO Electric Supply Inc., Jackson, MS. And No. 16 Turtle & Hughes, Linden, NJ, acquired electrical distributor Forest Hills Electrical Supply, Randolph, MA.
In the building materials sector, the most notable deal was Wallboard Supply Company, a subsidiary of US LBM Holdings LLC, Green Bay, WI, acquiring Poulin Lumber, Derby, VT.
Here are other key deals that occurred in October 2015:
Fastenal Agrees to Acquire Fasteners Inc.
Wurth Group Acquires Des Moines Bolt
Atlas Copco Acquires NJS Technologies
Univar Canada Acquires Three Companies
AmerisourceBergen to Acquire PharMEDium Healthcare Holdings
Bunzl Acquires Planet Clean Canada
Ingram Micro to Acquire Grupo ACAO
Kaman Acquires Timken Alcor Aerospace Technologies
Illinois Material Handling Acquires Fleet Lift Truck Service
Distribution International Acquires Selle Supply & PBI Supply
Orgill Canada Hardlines Acquires Chalifour Canada
Doig Acquires Automation Solutions Plus
Purvis Industries Acquires Industrial Mining Supply & Sun Belt Supply
