Why This Matters to Distributors: Essendant has begun selling assets as it works to avoid liquidation, with ORS Nasco acquiring three private-label brands that Essendant had planned to expand under its restructuring strategy. The transaction comes as Essendant prepares for widespread layoffs and faces a new lawsuit from TD SYNNEX alleging it stopped making payments on an earlier settlement in June.
Essendant has sold three of its private-label janitorial and facility supply brands to ORS Nasco as the national wholesaler sells assets, prepares for extensive layoffs, and faces additional supplier litigation.
ORS Nasco acquired Boardwalk, GEN and Windsoft, ORS Nasco President and CEO Kevin Short announced on LinkedIn. Financial terms and other details of the transaction were not disclosed in the announcement.
ORS Nasco, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a pure wholesaler of industrial, maintenance, repair and operations, safety, welding, construction, and janitorial products. The company sells exclusively through distributors and it operates seven U.S. distribution.
Distribution Strategy Group continues to reach out to Essendant for comment on the asset sale, its financial condition, restructuring and supplier litigation but has not received a response.
Short said in announcing the transaction that the acquisition expands ORS Nasco’s assortment and brings its janitorial and industrial product offerings closer together.
Boardwalk is the broadest of the three brands. Essendant’s product materials describe an assortment of more than 1,000 janitorial and industrial products, including cleaning chemicals, can liners, facility supplies, personal care products, safety products, towels, tissue, and wipers. Essendant has also said Boardwalk offers more than 250 foodservice products.
GEN is positioned as a value-oriented line of facility products, including can liners, napkins, paper towels, facial and bathroom tissue and dispensers, according to Essendant product materials. Windsoft focuses on commercial paper products, including center-pull, folded, hardwound and kitchen roll towels, along with facial tissue and standard and jumbo-roll bathroom tissue.
The sale marks a meaningful change from the strategy Essendant outlined for the brands less than a year ago.
Under its “New Way Forward” restructuring strategy, Essendant said it was winding down its traditional office products business to concentrate resources on janitorial and sanitation supplies, foodservice, and technology. The company specifically identified Boardwalk, GEN and Windsoft as private brands it planned to continue expanding.
The three brands are now moving to ORS Nasco as Essendant pursues transactions involving its assets and operations.
As DSG previously reported, Essendant disclosed in Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notices that it was exploring alternatives that included potential sales of assets, operations, and efforts to secure additional capital to avoid liquidation. The company said it expected to cease operations if those efforts were unsuccessful.
The ORS Nasco transaction provides evidence that Essendant’s effort to sell assets is now producing completed deals.
The sale comes as Essendant faces additional litigation from suppliers. TD SYNNEX Corp. sued Essendant Sept. 17 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging breach of contract involving technology products Essendant purchased for resale.
According to the complaint, TD SYNNEX alleges Essendant received products it had not fully paid for. The companies entered into a settlement and payment agreement around Oct. 27, 2025, to resolve the outstanding obligations.
Under the agreement, Essendant agreed to make 52 equal weekly payments beginning Nov. 7, 2025, and continuing through Oct. 30, 2026. TD SYNNEX alleges Essendant initially made the payments but stopped around June 4.
TD SYNNEX sent a formal demand for payment to Essendant on July 20, according to the complaint. TD SYNNEX alleges Essendant did not pay or respond within the five-business-day period specified in the demand.
The amount allegedly owed is redacted from the public complaint. TD SYNNEX is seeking the remaining balance plus interest and costs. The allegations have not been adjudicated.
The lawsuit adds TD SYNNEX to a growing group of suppliers pursuing claims against Essendant. DSG previously reported lawsuits involving Amax Inc., Crayola LLC and Teh Tung Corp. alleging Essendant failed to meet payment or other contractual obligations.
The asset sale and supplier litigation are unfolding as Essendant carries out extensive workforce reductions.
DSG previously reported that Essendant’s announced layoffs had reached 1,278 employees across six states — Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, and California. The reductions include corporate employees and workers at distribution operations.
In Illinois, Essendant’s WARN filings cover 510 employees associated with its Lincolnshire headquarters and another 134 employees at its Carol Stream distribution center, according to DSG’s review of state records.
The Illinois Department of Labor also confirmed directly to DSG this month that it opened an investigation after receiving a complaint involving Essendant and the state’s WARN Act. The department has not determined whether Essendant violated the law.
Essendant also faces a federal WARN Act lawsuit filed Aug. 28 by former employee Andrew Viverito against Essendant and Sycamore Partners II. The allegations have not been adjudicated.
The sales of Boardwalk, GEN and Windsoft represent another significant turn in Essendant’s restructuring. Less than a year after identifying the three private brands as products it intended to expand, Essendant has sold them to ORS Nasco as it continues to pursue asset transactions and additional capital while warning that it could cease operations if those efforts are unsuccessful.
Do not miss any content from Distribution Strategy Group. Join our list.
Share this article:
