I've been doing these M&A recaps for Industrial Distribution since early 2017. And in the time since, I've come to consider 'strong' month of M&A activity to mean an M&A news item count in the high teens on our publication. And the count was regularly reached nearly every month since, until it took a nosedive once the COVID-19 pandemic arrived — staying below a dozen M&A news items per month throughout the majority of 2020.
Activity picked up toward the end of the year and has remained improved throughout 2021, with ID covering 19 M&A announcements in June, 22 in July and 18 in August.
September went to a whole other level.
Despite numerous ongoing supply chain issues — including a historic labor crisis, a semiconductor shortage idling or reducing production at various automotive plants, and other material shortages causing historically high prices in many markets — the industrial supply sector went crazy with activity this past month.
Here on ID, we covered 32 M&A news announcements, which might be the most I've ever seen since I started on this publication in September 2014. These news items include announcements of completed or pending acquisitions impacting distributors relevant to the industrial products space in North America.
Here's what we covered in September, in reverse chronological order:
- B2B Industrial Packaging Acquires Distributor in Illinois - announced Aug. 31
- SKF Acquires Lubrication Filtration Supplier - announced Sept. 1
- MCE Makes 3rd Acquisition of 2021 - announced Sept. 1
- Dakota Supply Group Acquires Montana Waterworks & Irrigation - announced Sept. 1
- Winsupply Acquires HVAC Distributor in Iowa - announced Sept. 2
- FDH Aero Acquires Fellow Hardware Distributor Madison Aerospace - announced Sept. 3
- Martin Inc. Acquires Fastener Distributor in Mississippi - announced Sept. 7
- Superior Solutions Acquires Fellow Jansan Distributor Fuller Industries - announced Sept. 7
- Georgia's Unibloc Pump Acquires U.K.-Based Pumps Supplier - announced Sept. 8
- Distribution International to be Sold to Fellow Building Insulation Distributor TopBuild for $1B - announced Sept. 8
- Wire & Cable Supplier GCG Acquires ACD Advanced Controls and Distribution - announced Sept. 13
- FloWorks Acquires Valve Solutions Distributor Genesis Systems - announced Sept. 13
- Hunt Valve Sold to Different Private Equity Firm - announced Sept. 13
- Private Equity Firm Invests in Seattle-Based Distributor PumpTech - announced Sept. 13
- ARCH Cutting Tools Acquires CONTOUR360 in Maine - announced Sept. 13
- Bunzl Acquires Safety Distributor in Boston, Healthcare Distributor in Australia - announced Sept. 14
- Air Hydro Power Acquires Assets of Huntington Hose and Hydraulics - announced Sept. 14
- Core & Main to Acquire Kansas City's CES Industrial Piping Supply - announced Sept. 15
- JIS Acquires Fellow Ohio Distributor Erie Tool & Supply Co. - announced Sept. 15
- Generac Acquires Tank Monitoring Service Provider - announced Sept. 20
- Dynabrade Acquires Machined Components Supplier Manth Mfg. - announced Sept. 21
- Locus Robotics Acquires Fellow Warehouse Automation Company Waypoint Robotics - announced Sept. 21
- Thermal, Fluid Management Supplier Spectra Premium Industries to be Privately Acquired - announced Sept. 21
- Garage Door Components Supplier Arrow Tru-Line Privately Acquired - announced Sept. 21
- LINC Systems Stays Busy, Acquires Air-O Fasteners - announced Sept. 21
- RelaDyne Acquires Lubricants Lubricants Distributor in Pennsylvania - announced Sept. 23
- PE Firm GenNx360 Partners With Flow Control Distribution Exec to Form New Company - announced Sept. 23
- Pilot Freight Services Acquires Locations in US Northwest, Oklahoma - announced Sept. 27
- MRO Distributor Pearlman Group Acquires Excel Cleaning and Restoration Supplies - announced Sept. 28
- FleetPride Acquires Missouri's Bolin Auto & Truck Parts Company - announced Sept. 28
- Atlas Copco Acquires French Compressors Distributor - announced Sept. 28
- Machine Component Supplier Kemco Acquired by Crestview Aerospace - announced Sept. 28
- PE Firm Invests in Distributor Summit Hydraulics - announced Sept. 29
- Machining and Fabrication Supplier US Machine & Tool Privately Acquired - announced Sept. 30
Of course, despite our best efforts, there’s always 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.
If your company has news to share, M&A or otherwise, contact me at 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.
