Lowe’s Companies, Inc., a Mooresville, North Carolina-based home improvement-focused company, announced on Monday that it had entered an agreement to acquire Artisan Design Group, a Dallas-based designer, distributor and service provider for interior finishes, for $1.325 billion.
“We are thrilled for ADG to join forces with Lowe’s. Our leading position in flooring, cabinets and countertops, combined with Lowe’s scale and category breadth, will allow us to continue on our growth trajectory while providing an even more differentiated and comprehensive offering to the builders and property managers we serve today,” Steve Margolius, ADG’s CEO, said in a news release.
Lowe’s is acquiring Artisan from The Sterling Group, a Texas-based middle-market-focused PE firm that has owned Artisan since 2018.
Through the acquisition, Lowe’s will look to leverage Artisan Design Group’s capabilities to expand its Lowe’s Pro offering into new distribution channels and further enhance the overall capabilities of its Pro platform.
Lowe’s intends to fund the entire acquisition with cash on hand, and the transaction itself is expected to close sometime this quarter.
Lowe’s North Carolina-based chief legal officer, Juliette Pryor, worked alongside Covington & Burling, which served as the company’s outside legal counsel for the transaction. Centerview Partners acted as the lead, and Greenhill, adding additional support, served as Lowe’s financial advisors for the transaction.
Sharla Frenzel, Artisan Design Group’s Coppell, Texas-based GC, worked alongside Latham & Watkins on the deal, which served as Artisan Design Group’s outside legal counsel with a team led by Houston partners Scott Miller and Bruce Herzog.
The other Texas-based Latham & Watkins lawyers who contributed to the deal included Vera Bespalova (Houston), Morgen Seim (Houston), Caroline Silverstein (Houston), Jennifer Pitsch (Houston), Robert Brown (Houston/Austin), Nick Dhesi (Houston) and Andrew Abokhair (Austin).
The remainder of the non-Texas-based Latham & Watkins lawyers who also advised on the transaction included Adam Kestenbaum (Washington, D.C.), Laura Waller (Chicago), Elizabeth Duncan (Boston), Joshua Tinkelman (New York), Chen Tang (New York), Joshua Michael Guerra (New York), Katharine Moir (Silicon Valley), Jacob Gerrit Meninga (San Francisco/Silicon Valley), Jason Cruise (Washington, D.C.), Julia Whitehead (Washington, D.C.), Peter Todaro (Washington, D.C.), Drew Levin (Los Angeles), Hannah Cary (San Diego/Los Angeles), Robert Frances (San Diego), Aaron Friberg (San Diego), Aron Potash (Los Angeles) and Kate Johnstone (Los Angeles).
RBC Capital Markets, as the lead, and Goldman Sachs, which provided additional support, served as Artisan Design Group’s financial advisors in the transaction.