In October 2008, Advent International acquired a majority stake in Bradco Supply, a leading distributor of residential and commercial roofing materials in the US.

Ranked one of America’s largest private companies by Forbes, Bradco, which was founded in 1966, had over 2,000 employees and served more than 25,000 customers nationwide. The business had sales of $1.6 billion in 2008 and served both the commercial and residential roofing sectors from more than 130 locations across 30 states.

Bradco operated in a fragmented but stable market where the majority of the demand relates to non-discretionary repair projects. The strategy was to lead industry consolidation through acquisitions in existing markets and select regional or national transactions. There was also opportunity to expand geographically into the Western US and add non-roofing product lines.

In addition to Advent operating partner Tom Karol, who joined as CEO in 2008 and then became Chairman in 2009, and operating partner Larry Stoddard, who joined as CEO in 2009, additional key hires augmented the management team.

Bradco Supply was acquired by ABC Supply to create a larger and better-positioned company in June 2010.