Why This Matters to Distributors: Advantage Distribution Holdings is expanding through acquisitions that retain local brands and management while adding shared capital, purchasing resources and technology. The Badger Metals deal also includes employee equity participation, illustrating how buyers are using ownership incentives to bring independent distributors into larger organizations.
Advantage Distribution Holdings has acquired Wisconsin HVAC distributor Badger Metals Inc., adding four branches and expanding its network to 17 locations across seven states.
The Miami-based company announced the acquisition Oct. 12. Financial terms were not disclosed. Badger’s locations in Appleton, Fond du Lac, Madison, and Rhinelander give Advantage Distribution Holdings its first operations in Wisconsin.
Badger distributes heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, parts, and supplies to contractors. Founded in 1913, the fourth-generation, family-led business will retain its brand and continue operating under father and son Joe and Josh Welch.
The Welches will become shareholders in Advantage Distribution Holdings, or ADH, and Badger employees will receive equity participation in the broader company. The announcement did not specify the structure, value, or terms of the employee participation.
Badger is the third independent HVAC distributor to join ADH, following CTC Supply and cfm Distributors. ADH said it will provide additional capital, technology, purchasing resources, and operating support while retaining Badger’s local leadership.
Relationships within BLUE HAWK, a member-owned cooperative of independent heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration distributors, helped bring the deal together, according to the announcement. Badger is a longtime cooperative member.
Joe Welch, Badger’s president, said his relationships with Lauren Roberts, president and CEO of cfm Distributors, and Keith Sutton, founder of CTC Supply, influenced his decision to sell. Those relationships developed through BLUE HAWK.
“When I first started thinking about Badger’s next chapter, I struggled with the idea of selling the business,” Welch said. “Badger has been around since 1913, and our family has a deep responsibility to its employees, customers, and legacy.”
Welch said joining ADH would allow him and his son to continue building Badger while gaining resources and participating in the development of the larger company.
ADH’s co-founders, Zach Katz, Alex Gatof and Andrew Och, said the acquisition fits their strategy of bringing established distributors together while preserving local brands, cultures, and customer relationships. The company said it continues to seek acquisitions of independent HVAC distributors across the U.S.
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