According to Home Depot, Hughes Supply and Home Depot Supply will be combined to create a division designed to serve business-to-business customers, including homebuilders, professional contractors, municipalities, and maintenance professionals. In a release, Home Depot said the combination of the two "will provide customers with a continuum of products and services from infrastructure through construction to lifetime maintenance."
In accordance with the terms of the agreement as announced in early January of this year, Home Depot acquired Hughes Supply for aggregate consideration of $3.51 billion, including the payment of $46.50 per outstanding share and the assumption of $325 million in net debt. According to Home Depot, the close of the Hughes Supply transaction marks its largest acquisition ever, more than doubling the size of Home Depot Supply. The newly combined organization has more than 20,000 employees in more than 900 locations with projected 2006 combined sales approaching $12 billion.