The news that drove conversations in 2025 painted a picture of an industry in flux: billion-dollar consolidation deals creating powerhouses, the sudden collapse of a $4 billion meat distributor, and retail giants making aggressive moves into distribution to serve the contractor.

From QXO’s $11 billion entrance into building materials through its acquisition of Beacon to the creation of a $10 billion JanSan and packaging giant through the BradyPlus-Imperial Dade merger, 2025 showed the beginnings of a reshaped competitive landscape

The year also revealed deeper strategic pivots that will define the industry’s future. Distributors made calculated bets on artificial intelligence — Hajoca bought software provider Onsemble and Ferguson established Global Capability Center in India’s tech hub. Meanwhile, Amazon’s entry into less-than-truckload services reminded the industry that disruption comes from all angles.

MDM’s No. 1 most-read news story of the year chronicled Harvest Sherwood’s abrupt closure and subsequent bankruptcy filing — apparently triggered by a single customer’s decision that left $25 million in unsold inventory, and served as a cautionary tale about risk and supply chain fragility. The year also saw strategic retreats, with Grainger exiting the U.K. market and 3M divesting its precision grinding business.

Check out which of MDM’s distribution-related news got the most clicks this year below. While M&A announcements dominated the top news stories — including the $1.5 billion DNOW-MRC Global merger and Lowe’s $8.8 billion purchase of Foundation Building Materials — strategic moves into artificial intelligence, retail giants’ aggressive push into distribution, and technology infrastructure expansion also ranked among the most viewed.

Most-Read Distribution News Published in 2025

1. Former $4B Meat Distributor Harvest Sherwood Shutters — In late February, Harvest Sherwood announced an abrupt closure that would lay off 1,500 employees by April. The news of the Detroit-based meat distributor going under was particularly intriguing after just a year earlier it reported $4 billion in annual revenue. Months later, the company made headlines again when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid a dispute with its significant customer Sprouts Farmers Market. Reports shared that an action by Sprouts to cease purchasing tray-pack chicken from Harvest Sherwood left it with $25 million in unsold inventory — a beginning of the end.

• $4B Meat Distributor Harvest Sherwood to Close, Lay off 1500 (published Feb. 24, 2025)
• Now Shuttered, Former $4B Distributor Harvest Sherwood Files for Chapter 11 Amid Lawsuit (published May 9, 2025)

2. BradyPlus & Imperial Dade to Merge, Creating $10B Distributor (published Aug. 11, 2025) — In the Summer, two distributors in the foodservice, JanSan and industrial packaging sectors announced plans to merge in a deal that would create a combined company with annual revenue north of $10 billion and over 13,000 employees. Imperial Dade and BradyPLUS — Nos. 2 and 3 companies on MDM’s 2025 Top Distributors List for JanSan, Packaging & Disposables — announced they would combine their distribution networks and offerings to expand service capabilities and product access for customers.

3. Hajoca Acquires Onsemble to Boost Contractor-Focused AI (published June 23, 2025) — Hajoca, one of the largest privately-held wholesale distributors of plumbing, HVAC and industrial supplies in the U.S., intrigued distributors with a move that signaled investment in artificial intelligence when it acquired Onsemble — a software provider developing AI-enabled tools designed for contractors. Onsemble would serve as a dedicated “digital innovation engine” within Hajoca, focused on delivering modern, contractor-first tools particularly to small and midsized plumbing businesses.

4. Amazon Debuts LTL Service in U.S. (published April 11, 2025) — Amazon gave suppliers who sell through its eCommerce platforms more inbound shipping options to its fulfillment facilities when it announced it would introduce less-than-truckload services. The service includes about 60,000 trailers, thousands of lanes coast-to-coast and tech capabilities, such as an online self-service portal that allows suppliers to get quotes for shipments 14 days out, compare FTL and LTL options side-by-side, track load status and manage shipments and payments.

5. Foundation Building Materials Lands with Home Improvement Retailer Lowe’s — Similar to The Home Depot’s acquisitions of SRS in 2024 and wallboard products distributor GMS in 2025 to better serve its Pro (contractors) customers, Lowe’s followed suit by buying Foundation Building Materials for $8.8 billion.

FBM made its own waves earlier in the year when it made its move to acquire Lenexa, KS-based interior and exterior construction product distributors REW Materials. The integration of 800 REW employees and 45 distribution branches stands to broaden FBM’s national presence, enabling the company to expand its product offerings for builders, contractors and the broader construction industry. REW provides customers with products including steel framing, drywall, FRP panels, fire-treated wood, insulation and USG ceiling tile & grid.If you’ve followed the building materials space for years, you may recall that Foundation Building Materials made headlines in 2020 when it announced it would be acquired by private equity firm American Securities for $1.4 billion. And then again in 2021, when the acquisition finally closed. That news continues to resurface.

• Lowe’s to Buy Foundation Building Materials for $8.8B in Pro Boost (published Aug. 20, 2025)
• Foundation Building Materials Acquires REW Materials for $600M (published April 22, 2025)

6. Ferguson Launches Global Capability Center in India Tech Hub (published June 19, 2025) — Plumbing, HVAC and industrial supplies distributor Ferguson launched its Global Capability Center in Bengaluru, India. Built in partnership with ANSR, the center will focus on critical areas such as software engineering, artificial intelligence, ERP, CRM, data science, analytics and network operations. With more than 50 employees already in place, the center is expected to grow steadily over the next five years, expanding its technical workforce and adding leadership roles to support global development efforts.

7. DNOW to Buy MRC Global in PVF Blockbuster (published June 27, 2025) — Two Houston-based distributors announced a merger agreement valued at about $1.5 billion in which DNOW will acquire MRC Global, resulting in a combined company with an enterprise value of approximately $3.0 billion. The merger combines DNOW and MRC Global’s complementary product portfolios and footprint of more than 350 service and distribution locations across 20+ countries. Combined 2024 revenues total approximately $5.4 billion ($2.9B for MRC and $2.4B for DNOW), making it a major industrial PVF supply powerhouse serving the energy and industrial sectors.

8. QXO Enters Building Materials Distribution with Beacon Deal — In April, QXO completed its landmark purchase of Beacon Roofing Supply in a deal valued at about $11 billion. It cemented QXO’s status as a major player in the B2B distribution space with its first acquisition, with Beacon to serve as the foundation that QXO will build upon as it pursues achieving $50 billion in revenue. In Beacon, QXO gains a Herndon, VA-based organization that has nearly 600 branches across the U.S. and Canada, with a base of about 110,000 customers backed by approximately 8,000 employees. Beacon had 2024 revenue of $9.76 billion.

• Done Deal: QXO Completes $11B Purchase of Beacon (published April 30, 2025) — The deal closing ended a five-month public saga between QXO and Beacon, which included an open letter from QXO’s founder to Beacon employees:
• QXO Makes $5B Offer to Buy GMS (published Nov. 19, 2025)
• Premium: Jacobs Answers QXO’s Frequently Asked Questions (published Sept. 11, 2025)

9. Performance Food Group, U.S. Foods End Merger Talks — In July, Rosemont, IL-based U.S. Foods began evaluating an acquisition of Performance Food Group and expressed interest about a potential combination, according to Bloomberg News. The potential merger would have formed the largest U.S. foodservice distributor, with a bigger market share than Sysco. In September, the pair explored an “information sharing arrangement” to allows the companies to evaluate regulatory considerations and synergies related to a potential combination. By November, talks were terminated, according to company press releases.

10. 3M to Exit Precision Grinding & Finishing Business as Portfolio Refocus Continues (published Oct. 23, 2025)

11. Grainger to Exit U.K.: Divests Cromwell, Closes Zoro U.K. (published Oct. 17, 2025)

12. LINC Systems Acquires Allied Fastening Supply in WA (published Oct. 14, 2025)

13. NEFCO Acquires Big D Tool Center in TX (published Oct. 14, 2025)

14. DoJ Settles with 2 U.S. Distributors Over Tariff Evasion, Goods Smuggling (published Dec. 22, 2025)

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