After the dust settles from some of the largest deals in LBM history, the next big move to shake up the industry could come from a specialty dealer.
Earlier this year, Gypsum Management and Supply (GMS) quietly filed documents with the SEC in advance of a potential Initial Public Offering (IPO) to take the company public. The forms were first filed in July of 2015, with updates and amendments in September and October. So far, no action has been taken by GMS to act on the IPO.
If GMS were to go public, it would come roaring into the ProSales 100, easily landing in the top ten with $1.6 billion in sales in 2015, which, for GMS, ends April 30.
The forms filed with the SEC are comprehensive, with financial data up to July 31, 2015. The only information missing is the price and amount of the stock that would be offered to the public, that section is blank.
GMS described its finances in the form as having “generated $1.6 billion in net sales, $113.9 million of adjusted EBITDA and $13.8 million of net loss.” A majority of its net sales in the fiscal year that ended April 2015 came from wallboard products, which totaled $718 million in sales, or 45.7% of net sales.
For the quarter ending July 31, GMS had total net sales of $452 million and a net income of $2.8 million.
GMS was originally founded in 1971 and, according to the IPO form, has grown to over 155 branches across 36 states.

“Whereas several of our competitors are part of larger organizations that manufacture or distribute a wide variety of products, we focus on distributing wallboard, ceilings and complementary interior construction products,” the company wrote in its IPO filing. “We believe this focus enables us to provide superior service and product expertise to our customers.
GMS is made up of 39 subsidiary companies that operate around the United States, including Ohio Valley Supply, Colonial Materials, and Lone Star Materials.
GMS recently expanded its presence in Southern California with the acquisition of Hathaway & Sons, which now operates as Hathaway Building Materials. Hathaway is a drywall and specialty building products distributor.