ProBuild was acquired by Builders FirstSource in 2015 resulting in an entity with $6.1 billion combined 2014 revenue.
History
In 1997, Fidelity Capital, the business development arm of Fidelity Investments, acquired the Strober Organization, a supplier of building materials to professional builders and contractors in the Northeast. Over the next nine years, Strober acquired additional regional brands, extending its reach to the mid-Atlantic and Southeast markets. By 2005, Strober had become one of the largest professional building materials dealers in the United States. In 2008, Fidelity Capital purchased Lanoga Corporation, which was, at the time, the nation's third largest professional building materials dealer. Fidelity made the purchase through ProBuild Holdings, Inc., a newly created entity that included the Strober Organization. The Strober Organization was the sixth largest professional building materials dealer in the U.S. at the time. With the purchase of Lanoga, ProBuild's 2006 resources comprised over 420 locations in 38 states with more than 14,000 employees. The subsequent acquisitions of Hope Lumber and Supply and other lumber suppliers made ProBuild the largest professional building materials dealer in the United States by 2007 with more than 506 locations nationwide. Following the downturn of the housing market in the United States in 2008, ProBuild consolidated a number of facilities and exited several markets, including Chicago and Pittsburgh. As was the case with much of the home building industry, sales fell during the downturn. ProBuild reported just over $3 billion in sales in 2009, down from at 2006 peak of $6 billion. By 2013, the company reported a 9 percent increase in sales from the prior year. On July 31, 2015, Builders FirstSource acquired ProBuild Holdings LLC, creating a more diversified company with enhanced scale and improved geographic footprint. The combined company, on a pro forma basis, generated over $6 billion in annual revenue in 2015 and currently operates approximately 400 locations in 40 states, with a market presence in 74 of the top 100Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States.
