Reliance continues to target acquisitions

Feb 07, 2013 | 04:33 PM | Corinna Petry

Tags  Reliance Steel & Aluminum, Metals USA Holdings, David Hannah, PNA Group, Earle M. Jorgensen, Corinna Petry

CHICAGO — Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. has become a powerhouse in the U.S. service center industry through its acquisitions, consistently ranking No. 1 as measured by revenue.

The Los Angeles-based company has bought 54 companies of varying sizes since it went public some 19 years ago. Yet the metals distribution market remains highly fragmented, with numerous $100-million to $200-million companies flying under the radar because they don’t belong to industry associations, Reliance chairman and chief executive officer David H. Hannah told AMM Feb. 6.

Reliance’s proposed $1.2-billion acquisition of Metals USA Holdings Corp., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., (amm.com, Feb. 7) would be the company’s largest ever, surpassing its $1.1-billion purchase of PNA Group Holding Corp. in 2008 (amm.com, Aug. 4, 2008) and its $984-million buy of Earle M. Jorgensen Co. in 2006 (amm.com, April 3, 2006), Hannah said. However, he noted that "the timing is better" in this case because Reliance and Metals USA are each poised for a recovery in the nonresidential construction market, which Hannah expects will pick up over the next year or so.....