During the course of following the long-running consolidation trend in the distribution sector, it’s not unheard of to see announcements of two or even three companies that have been gobbled up at the same time.
Six simultaneous acquisitions, though?
For a Texas investment firm, forming what it says will be one of the leading distributors in its market required a bit more legwork than usual.
Trive Capital, a private equity firm based in Dallas, late last year formally established Venturi Supply, a distributor of pipe, valves and fittings, as well as engineered products and other industrial supplies.
The new company was created from the combined operations of six PVF distributors that were acquired by the firm:
- Albuquerque Pipe & Pump Supply, which operates as Pipe & Pump Supply Co., has one facility in New Mexico’s largest city and another, known as El Paso Pipe and Pump Supply Co., in West Texas.
- Ameripipe Supply, based in Dallas, has three additional Texas locations – in Austin, Houston and San Antonio – and other branches in Tampa, Oklahoma City and suburban Atlanta.
- BPS Supply Group, headquartered in California’s San Joaquin Valley, operates 10 total branches in that state — stretching from Redding in the north to Imperial in the south, along with locations in Houston, Las Vegas and Portland and three branches each in a pair of major oil and gas production hubs: western North Dakota, and West Texas and New Mexico.
- Industrial & Construction Enterprises has two warehouses in eastern North Carolina: its flagship facility in Washington and a second in Leland.
- Producers Supply Company, a supplier to oilfield operators, has three locations in Pennsylvania – including its Canonsburg headquarters outside Pittsburgh – and others in North Dakota and Oklahoma.
- Tri Star Industrial operates two locations in its native Phoenix, another in Tucson, Arizona, and five in major California markets, including Long Beach, San Jose, San Diego and Sacramento.
Trive Capital
Former Tri Star CEO Michael DiMino will lead the new business from a new headquarters in Phoenix. Trive officials said that DiMino spent the latter half of 2022 expanding the company’s executive team, and he vowed in the announcement that Venturi would “build on the legacy of the six acquired businesses” and provide “industry-leading service and supply chain partnership.”
Trive, which focuses on middle-market North American businesses with near-term growth potential and “strong strategic viability,” said the new structure offers a “unique” combination of scale, product portfolios and service in PVF distribution. Jared Reyes, the firm’s managing director, said each newly acquired company would benefit from ample collaboration and cross-selling opportunities.
And although it may not be six at one time, the company’s acquisition efforts remain far from completed, officials added.
“With the leadership team and executive office now in place, Venturi is well-positioned to continue its growth trajectory,” Trive partner Blake Bonner said in the firm’s announcement. “We look forward to partnering with Michael and the management team to further expand Venturi’s geographic footprint, product offering and value-added capabilities, both organically and through additional M&A.”
