Summary: Our employee benefits team provided comprehensive acquisition support to the country's largest distributor of plumbing, HVAC, and building supplies, with a market cap exceeding $30 billion. Over the two most recent fiscal years, we supported 20+ acquisitions with a collective transaction value of approximately $1.5 billion.
The Challenge: Our client needed specialized employee benefits counsel to support their aggressive acquisition strategy as the nation's largest building supplies distributor. The engagement required seamless integration with the client's dedicated acquisitions department and coordination with outside M&A counsel across multiple simultaneous transactions. Each acquisition demanded rapid qualified retirement plan due diligence and efficient transition planning for target companies ranging from $30 million to $200 million in value, with 401(k) plans containing $2 million to $20 million in assets.
Our Strategy: We developed a streamlined employee benefits acquisition support process tailored to our client's high-volume M&A strategy. Our approach focused on delivering rapid, thorough due diligence on qualified retirement plans while ensuring smooth post-acquisition transitions for target company employees. We established seamless working relationships with the client's internal acquisitions team and coordinated effectively with their primary M&A counsel to ensure employee benefits considerations were properly integrated into each transaction's overall structure and timeline.
The Result: We successfully supported over 20 acquisitions totaling approximately $1.5 billion in transaction value across the two most recent fiscal years. Our efficient due diligence and transition processes enabled our client to maintain their aggressive acquisition pace while ensuring proper employee benefits compliance and integration across all target companies. The ongoing relationship demonstrates our ability to serve as specialized counsel supporting large-scale, high-frequency M&A strategies for major public companies with complex employee benefit plan requirements.
