The industrial supply sector began 2020 with a flurry of merger & acquisition activity, with Industrial Distribution covering 20 such news items in January and 21 in February. But things came to a near halt in March once COVID-19 pandemic business impacts began throughout the US. ID posted only five M&A news items in March, and only two in April — leading me to not even posting a standalone M&A recap for April.
But as conditions improved throughout May and many businesses begin resuming higher production levels, activity seems to be picking up again. ID covered four acquisitions in the industrial supply space during May, and June began with another.
Below, see what we covered in April and May, in reverse chronological order:
- DGI Supply to Acquire Rockford's Production Tool & Supply - posted May 29
- Industrial Threaded Products Acquires Construction Tool & Threading Co. - posted May 18
- Cline Tool Acquires Davis Tool; Becomes Master Distributor for Erix Tool - posted May 12
- ECM Industries Acquires Fellow Electrical Supplier ILSCO - posted May 4
- C.I. Thornburg Acquires Fellow Waterworks Distributor Viking Supply - posted April 20
- Winsupply Acquires Virginia's May Supply - posted April 6
Many publicly-traded industrial distributors and suppliers stated their intention to substantially decrease capital expenditures and M&A activity as a means of cost-savings during ongoing impacts from COVID-19, so it's likely that M&A activity in this sector will remain subdued through most of the rest of the year.
Despite our best efforts, there’s always deals announced that either wasn’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.
If your company has M&A news to share, contact ID editor Mike Hockett at [email protected].
As always, the best way to stay on top of industrial supply M&A news is to make sure you're subscribed to ID's free daily e-newsletter.
