We knew the incredible pace of M&A activity seen in the industrial supply sector over November-January wasn't going to last forever. The record-setting amount of deals finally came back to earth after early February, resuming its solid-but-unspectactular rate seen in most months in pre-COVID times.
After January set a single-month record for the most M&A news items posted on Industrial Distribution with 41, February checked in at 17. Again, that's a figure typical in this market during pre-pandemic, but significantly trails the breakneck pace seen from September 2021 through January. The month started out on fire once again, with 10 M&A news items posted on ID through Feb. 7. But it cooled quickly after, with news of only six deals posted the rest of the month.
RELATED: ID's 2021 M&A Recap: Breakneck December Closes Major Rebound Year (Jan. 4)
Nevertheless, there were several major deals in February for the industrial supply sector. The two biggest were Relevant Industrial's Feb. 15 announcement that it will acquire Rawson/ICD from ERIKS North America, and the news that Sonepar's industrial products distribution brand, Vallen Distribution, will be bought by private equity firm Nautic Partners. Vallen was No. 12 on ID's 2021 Big 50 List, while ERIKS NA was No. 23.
Here's everything we covered during February (including a few deals from late January), in reverse order of their announcement date:
- Bearings Limited Acquired by Solve Industrial Motion (Feb. 28)
- Vallen, Sonepar's Industrial Distribution Subsidiary, is Going Private (Feb. 24)
- American Equipment Holdings Acquires Kistler Crane in Omaha (Feb. 23)
- Cummins to Buy Powertrain Supplier Meritor for $3.7B (Feb. 22)
- DuPont Selling Most of Mobility & Materials Segment to Celanese for $11B (Feb. 18)
- CGI Automated Manufacturing Acquires Haven Manufacturing (Feb. 17)
- Process Equipment Distributor Relevant Industrial to Double its Footprint with Acquisition of Rawson/ICD (Feb. 15)
- PPG Acquiring Powder Coatings Business in Italy (Feb. 7)
- RelaDyne Acquires Fellow Ohio Lubricants Distributor Farley (Feb. 7)
- Tork Wipes Maker Essity Acquires Fellow Cleaning Supplier Legacy Converting (Feb. 2)
- BradyIFS Expands Further in Northeast, Acquires Supplyitall/A South Jersey Paper Company (Feb. 1)
- Milton Industries Acquires Global-Flex (Feb. 1)
- Cumulus Companies Adds to IBT Industrial Solutions, Acquires Lawler Gear Corp. (Feb. 1)
- Jon-Don Acquires Floor Care Supplier USA-CLEAN (Feb. 1)
- SBP Holdings Sells Bishop Lifting Products to Private Firm (Feb. 1)
- Wajax Acquires Fellow Ontario Distributor Process Flow Systems (Jan. 31)
- Bergey’s Truck Centers Acquires Fellow Parts Supplier Cumberland Truck (Jan. 28)
RELATED: ID's January M&A Recap: 2021 Ends, and 2022 Begins, With M&A Onslaught (Feb. 1)
Of course, this list doesn't include EVERY M&A deal announced during February. Despite our best efforts, there’s always relevant deals announced that either weren’t on our radar, or that weren’t made public. But, this list should provide a good idea of most M&A activity applicable to the industrial supply market.
See our January M&A recap here
See our December and full-year 2021 M&A recap here
If your company has news to share, M&A or otherwise, contact me at at [email protected].
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