
US LBM, the nation's seventh-biggest pro-oriented dealer, announced today it has acquired the Ridout Cos., the Searcy, Ark-based dealer that's No. 31 on the ProSales 100. The deal encompasses Ridout Lumber's 12 locations in Arkansas plus one in Joplin, Mo.; Ridout Door Manufacturing Co.; and Arkansas Wholesale Lumber Co.
Ross Ridout will stay with the company and become its president, US LBM said in a news release. US LBM described Ridout Cos., founded in 1971, as the largest privately owned building products and materials dealer in Arkansas. It reported sales of $166 million in 2015, adding to the $2.4 billion in sales and 227 locations that US LBM reported for that year. US LBM now is based in Buffalo Grove, Ill.

This is US LBM's first deal since August, when it acquired Keene Lumber and made the Muskegon, Mich.-based dealer part of its Standard Supply & Lumber operation. Its last multi-unit purchase took place last June, when it bought the five-unit Raymond Building Supply of Florida. Many of its most significant acquisitions took place in 2015, when its revenues grew nearly 70%.
“Over the decades, Ridout has grown into a premier building materials company, and we’re thrilled to welcome them to the US LBM family,” President and CEO L.T. Gibson said in a statement. “This new partnership allows us to continue delivering on our strategy of bringing local market leaders together while also expanding our portfolio into new and growing markets across the country.” Based on US LBM's service map, Arkansas is the 28th state and Missouri the 29th state where the company operates, always under the names of its 29 divisions.