HVAC distribution platform Advantage Distribution Holdings announced Monday that it has acquired longtime Wisconsin distributor Badger Metals Inc.
ADH, established in 2024 by the then-newly formed private equity firm Tigertail Capital Partners, will add Badger Metals to previously acquired companies cfm Distributors and CTC Supply; the deal brings its overall footprint to 17 locations in seven states.
Badger, which provides HVAC equipment, parts and supplies to contractors from four locations in Wisconsin, will continue to be led by Joe and Josh Welch. Joe Welch, the company’s president, has long known the leaders of cfm and CTC through the BLUE HAWK distributor cooperative, which “played an important role” in the deal, officials said.
“Badger has been around since 1913, and our family has a deep responsibility to its employees, customers and legacy,” Joe Welch said in the announcement. “Through my relationships with Lauren [Roberts] and Keith [Sutton], I came to understand that joining ADH did not have to feel like selling. It could be an opportunity to become a founder again.”
Under the deal, Joe and Josh Welch will become ADH shareholders, and Badger employees will receive “equity ownership exposure” in the platform. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“Badger represents exactly why we created ADH,” Tigertail and ADH co-founders Zach Katz, Alex Gatof and Andrew Och said in a joint statement. “This is a family-led business with more than 110 years of history, an exceptional reputation, and deep relationships across its markets.”
