When industrial distributors and manufacturers report their regular earnings, total-year sales growth may still appear strong even if monthly or quarterly growth appears to slow. Many companies have reported exceptionally strong months followed by relatively down months, and the same can be said about the overall pace of M&A activity.

Distributors and manufacturers kicked off the year with a staggering 48 deals reported in January, the highest single monthly total reported by MDM in more than two years. And although the pace of M&A activity slowed in February, we still reported on 29 deals during the month — an amount that would be considered strong for any month over the past few years. It’s too early to tell whether January or February will serve as the bellwether for activity going forward in 2023, just as companies and industry watchers debate just when an economic slowdown might show up to spoil the party (even temporarily).

It’s always worth noting that our M&A coverage isn’t limited to just distributors. We also include M&A news of manufacturers, service providers and other entities we deem directly relevant to the distribution sector’s industrial, commercial and building materials verticals. It’s also worth noting that, despite our best efforts, our coverage doesn’t include every single deal that happened in those verticals over the past month. Some transactions aren’t publicly announced, and others just weren’t on our radar or brought to our attention. Still, we believe our monthly M&A recaps provide a good look at overall activity. Read more about February 2023’s M&A deals below.

February M&A:

These are the M&A announcements — primarily involving distributors, but also manufacturers that sell through the channel — that MDM covered during February 2023 (click the headline for more details):

• AFC Industries Strikes Again in Michigan, Acquires PF Markey — Fairfield, Ohio-based industrial distributor AFC Industries has further expanded its footprint in Michigan, announcing Feb. 10 its acquisition of PF Markey Company, a distributor of cutting tools in Saginaw.
• ARCH Cutting Tools Makes Acquisition in Cincinnati — Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based ARCH Cutting Tools Corp. announced Jan. 30 its acquisition of Custom Carbide Cutter Inc. (CCCI), a manufacturer of cutting tools in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Auxo Acquires Wire Harness & Cable Suppliers Morgan Royce, TACK — Grand Rapids, Michigan-based private equity firm Auxo Investment Partners announced Feb. 8 it has acquired two wire harness and cable suppliers: Morgan Royce Industries (MRI) and TACK Electronics.
• Bunzl Announces 2 Acquisitions, 17.1% Revenue Growth in 2022 — London-based foodservice and packaging products distributor Bunzl announced Feb. 27 the completion of two acquisitions in Germany and Canada.
• Descartes Acquires Carrier Solutions Provider GroundCloud — On Feb. 14, Ontario, Canada-based logistics software provider Descartes Systems Group announced that it has acquired GroundCloud, a Minnesota-headquartered cloud-based provider of final-mile carrier solutions and road safety compliance tools.
• Dynapower Pumps Supplier Hydra Service Privately Acquired — Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Hydra Service — a manufacturer of Dynapower pumps, motors and turbine starters — announced the company has been purchased by a manufacturing investment group, led by business professional Mick Webber.
• Envoy Solutions Acquires Mooney General-Paper in New Jersey — The M&A binge continues for JanSan and packaging supplies distributor Envoy Solutions, which announced Feb. 10 its acquisition of Mooney-General Paper Company (MGP), a distributor of packaging supplies in Hillside, New Jersey.
• Envoy Solutions Acquires Detroit Chemical & Paper Supply — The Glenview, Illinois-based JanSan and packaging supplies distributor announced Feb. 6 its acquisition of Detroit Chemical & Paper Supply Company (DCP), a distributor of cleaning and sanitary products based in Warren, Michigan.
• FleetPride Acquires TAM Truck & Trailer Service in Georgia — Truck and trailer parts distributor FleetPride announced Feb. 21 that it has acquired the assets of TAM Truck & Trailer Service in Alto, Georgia for an undisclosed amount.
• Flexpak Acquires Preferred Packaging Products in Colorado — Woods Cross, Utah-based packaging supplies provider Flexpak LLC has completed its acquisition of Thornton, Colorado-based Preferred Packaging Products, Inc., according to a Feb. 6 announcement from private-equity firm Shorehill Capital LLC.
• Helios Technologies Acquires Hydraulics Supplier Schultes Precision — On Jan. 30, Sarasota, Florida-based Helios Technologies, Inc. — a motion control and electronic controls technology company — announced that it has completed its acquisition of Schultes Precision Manufacturing, Inc.
• Hospeco Brands Acquires Wipes Maker Innocore in Canada — Cleveland, Ohio-based Hospeco Brands announced Feb. 24 that it has purchased Ontario, Canada-based Innocure — a manufacturer of Touch Point and Certainty Brands premoistened, non-woven, surface and personal wipes and other hand care products.
• Imperial Dade Acquires Focus Packaging & Supply — On Feb. 1, JanSan and foodservice packaging distributor Imperial Dade announced the acquisition of Fresno, California-based Focus Packaging & Supply Co.
• Lowe’s Completes $400M Sale of Canada Retail Unit to Sycamore — On Feb. 3, home improvement retailer Lowe’s Companies, Inc. said it has completed the previously reported sale of its Canadian retail business to private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $400 million.
• Mallory Safety Acquires JG Tucker & Son in Los Angeles — Longview, Washington-based Mallory Safety and Supply announced Feb. 28 its acquisition of JG Tucker & Son, a distributor of safety products in the Los Angeles area.
• Meritus Gas Partners Acquires Southern MagneGas Locations — Meritus Gas Partners, a portfolio company of AEA Investors’ Small Business Private Equity team, announced Feb. 10 that it has closed its acquisition of “substantially all assets” of MagneGas Welding Supply – South, LLC, according to a news release.
• Motion & Control Enterprises Acquires Precision Pump & Valve — On Feb. 1, Pennsylvania-based industrial distributor Motion & Control Enterprises (MCE) announced its acquisition of Precision Pump & Valve (PPV).
• NIBCO Acquires Valves Maker Matco-Norca in NY — Elkhart, Indiana-based industrial valve and fitting provider NIBCO INC. announced that it has completed its acquisition of Brewster, New York-based Matco-Norca LLC, a supplier of plumbing and PVF products for use in residential, commercial and industrial applications.
• Plumbing Distributor Coburn Supply Acquires Chris-More — Beaumont, Texas-based Coburn Supply Company announced Feb. 3 that is has acquired plumbing wholesaler Chris-More, Inc.’s assets and three locations.
• Pye-Barker Acquires Fire Sprinkler Services Company in Montana — Alpharetta, Georgia-based safety products distributor Pye-Barker Fire & Safety announced Feb. 2 its acquisition of IT&M Division Inc, a fire sprinkler services company.
• Power Tools Manufacturer Dynabrade Acquires Global Abrasive Products — Clarence, New York-based power tools manufacturer Dynabrade Inc. announced Feb. 2 its acquisition of Global Abrasive Products Inc. (GAP).
• Sandvik Acquires Irish Medical Tooling Supplier PMT — Sweden-based cutting tools manufacturer Sandvik has acquired 95% of the shares in Irish company PMT Premier Machine Tools Limited, according to a news release.
• Schaedler Yesco Completes Acquisition of YESCO Electrical — Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based electrical products distributor Schaedler Yesco announced Feb. 15 it has finalized its purchase of YESCO Electrical Supply.
• Seco Tools Acquires Premier Machine Tools in Ireland — Metal cutting solutions provider Seco has acquired Irish company PMT Premier Machine Tools Ltd, a supplier of machining solutions for the medical industry, according to a news release.
• Solve Industrial Motion Acquires SPB-USA in Florida — On Feb. 16, Solve Industrial Motion Group announced its acquisition of SPB-USA, LLC., a factory-direct sales and marketing company of Sapporo Precision, Inc., the manufacturer of EZO Precision Ball Bearings.
• Swiss-Based Holcim to Buy Duro-Last Roofing in $1.3B Deal — Sustainable building solutions provider Holcim said Feb. 7 that it has agreed to acquire Ludlow, Massachusetts-based roofing company Duro-Last for approximately $1.3 billion.
• Timken Acquires American Roller Bearing Company in NC — Just two days after reaching an agreement to acquire Nadella Group, Timken said it has acquired the assets of American Roller Bearing Company, a North Carolina-based manufacturer of industrial bearings.
• Trillium Flow Technologies Acquires Coulter Valve Service in GA — Global valves and pumps manufacturer Trillium Flow Technologies announced Feb. 8 its acquisition of Coulter Valve Service (CVS), a provider of valve field services based in Chickamauga, Georgia.

Check out our January 2023 M&A recap here.

Check out our 2022 full-year M&A recap here.

Check out our December 2022 M&A recap here.