After the transaction is closed, a cross-functional team from both companies will work together to integrate operations, according to Lauren Brey, Hughes Supply's director of corporate communications. “We have built a strong and successful business and we will have a strong voice in this merger and in the integration process,” she said. One of the key achievements of The Home Depot Supply has been the ability to identify, acquire and then grow the companies that become part of The Home Depot family, Brey said. As an example, she pointed to White Cap, which started with 70 branches in 17 states and has grown to 100 branches in 23 states as part of The Home Depot Supply.

“Each business the company has acquired is performing better than its expectations, growing faster than before it was acquired and growing faster than its relative market,” Brey said.

There are no immediate plans to change the company's name, Brey said. Other companies that have become part of Home Depot Supply, such as National Waterworks, White Cap Construction Supply, Apex Supply and Williams Brothers Lumber Co., kept their names. Plans are to keep the Hughes Supply operation in Orlando, she added.