After a Tumultuous Year, M&A Activity Slows at Year’s End

The 2025 M&A market is ending quietly, with only about two-thirds as many deals as last year and only three-quarters as many buyers. But the deals that did take place often were enormous, involving 1.5 times as many facilities as were acquired last year and four times more than in 2023.

As of Dec. 10, the Webb Analytics Deals Database shows a total of 1,797 facilities have been acquired by 64 buyers in 107 deals. There also have been (or soon will come) 179 greenfield openings. Meanwhile, 72 facilities have closed.

The most recent announcement came Dec. 8, when Lezzer Lumber revealed its purchase of H.P. Starr Lumber and Brookside Lumber in Western Pennsylvania. Earlier, US LBM purchased XO Windows of Phoenix, Franklin Building Supply acquired Snake River Truss of Idaho Falls, ID; Dakota County Lumber bought Hamel True Value of Plymouth, MN, and Gold Beach Lumber took over the Dazey’s branch in Medford, OR.

Elsewhere, SRS Distribution purchased Specialty Wood Products of Aurora, CO, and Kyle, TX. In addition, SRS’s Heritage Pool Supply Group bought the four-unit MT Pool Distributor operation based in the Miami area. And SiteOne Landscape Supply purchased French Broad Stone.& Supply of Asheville and Brevard, NC.

The biggest single purchase over the past several weeks involved Kabelin Ace Hardware, an eight-store chain based in Northern Indiana. It was acquired by Houchens Food Group.

Among other activity:

• Builders FirstSource opened a big new facility in Woodland, WA.

• Allram Lumber expanded with a new store Rice Lake, WI.

• 84 Lumber expects to open a truss plant in La Mirada, CA, by year-end.

• Decks & Docks kept opening more stores away from the coasts, this time in Chattanooga, TN.

• Drexel Building Supply opened a new facility in Kewaskum, WI.