April 30, 2015
Croft & Bender Serves as Financial Advisor to VNS Corporation in its Sale to Building Materials Holding Corporation
Croft & Bender, an Atlanta-based investment banking and private equity firm, is pleased to announce the successful sale of its client, VNS Corporation (VNS), to Building Materials Holding Corporation (BMC).
Based in Vidalia, Georgia, VNS is a leading building materials supply dealer and manufacturer, serving both single-family and multi-family homebuilders, in the Southeast region of the United States. The Company was founded in 1947 as Vidalia Naval Stores Company, a business that distilled gum from pine trees into turpentine and rosin products. The Company began selling building materials in 1961 from its first store in Vidalia and grew to become one of the largest building products distributors in the Southeast. The Company currently operates storefront locations in Georgia and north Florida, and serves a broader geographic area through its multi-family contracting operation.
BMC, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is a leading provider of residential building products and construction services to professional builders and contractors in the Western United States, Texas and North Carolina. The company has 31 lumber yards, 17 truss manufacturing facilities, 22 millwork operations and 3 BMC Design Centers in ten of the top 25 single-family construction markets.
Croft & Bender served as the exclusive financial advisor to VNS on the transaction. "Croft and Bender did an excellent job in this transaction. C&B served as a trusted and effective advisor throughout the transaction process. By virtue of their experience, expertise, sound advice, and hard work they were instrumental in helping achieve a very positive outcome for our shareholders," said VNS Chairman, Hugh Peterson. Company CEO Gary Campbell added “We are excited to become part of the BMC family and their growth into the Southeast. We are confident this transaction will be very positive for the Company’s employees as well as the shareholders and are thankful for the important role that Croft & Bender played throughout the process”.
“It was a pleasure working with Hugh Peterson, Gary Campbell and the rest of the VNS team,” commented Bo Briggs, Managing Director at Croft & Bender. “Hugh and Gary have built an impressive Company that performed well during a challenging period in the building products industry and has grown rapidly as the industry recovered. We believe that VNS will provide a strong platform for BMC in the Southeast; and that BMC will provide a great home to the many employees who made VNS successful over the past several decades.”