American Securities and Clayton Dubilier & Rice have exited Foundation Building Materials, a distributor of interior building products, to Lowe’s in a deal valued at $8.8 billion.
“This [transaction] was something that was driven by conversations between FBM and Lowe’s,” said Kevin Penn, managing director at American Securities.
The deal comes as the broader US private equity market has faced headwinds, with Q2 2025 seeing a significant 46.4% drop in exit value after a steady rebound earlier in the year.
Despite this, FBM has experienced considerable growth, recording 27% per annum revenue growth and 31% per annum EBITDA growth, and is now generating notable returns for investors as corporations look to bolster their supply of building products.
“It’s notable that American Securities, in four and a half years, was able to more than double its return after buying Foundation Building Materials in January 2021 for $1.37 billion in a leveraged buyout, and with CD&R coming in via a growth equity investment in 2024, now exiting that investment at $8.8 billion,” said Jim Corridore, PitchBook’s senior industrials analyst.
“Their LPs should be happy with that return, particularly in light of many investments made in 2021 struggling to secure exits at good returns,” he said.
Corridore notes that the deal is likely a direct response to Home Depot’s GMS acquisition, as it appears both Home Depot and Lowe’s are racing to become more vertically integrated and move toward controlling their building products supply. This strategy would help them secure access to materials at favorable pricing.
In June, Home Depot agreed to acquire publicly traded GMS through its subsidiary, SRS Distribution, for $4.3 billion.
Home Depot’s acquisition of SRS in March 2024 was one of the largest exits for private equity ever. Home Depot acquired the company from Leonard Green & Partners and Berkshire Partners in a deal valued at $18.25 billion.
Based in Santa Ana, California, FBM distributes building materials and construction products through over 370 locations across the US and Canada.
RBC Capital Markets as exclusive financial adviser on the deal, while Weil, Gotshal & Manges served as legal adviser to FBM, American Securities and CD&R.
Update: The article has been updated to include comments from American Securities and US PE exit data. (Aug. 20, 2025)
Featured image by Elizabeth Beard/Getty Images
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