Transactions

the stock of Ben Meadows Company have been acquired by Lab Safety Supply, Inc. a subsidiary of W.W. Grainger, Inc. MERTZ ASSOCIATES advised and assisted Lab Safety Supply in designing an acquisition search program, contacting potential sellers, evaluating proposals and participating in negotiations.

• BEN MEADOWS COMPANY, Canton, Georgia, a privately held corporation with annual sales of more than $20 million, is a business-to-business direct marketer specializing in equipment for the environmental and forestry management markets. Ben Meadows has grown at a high single-digit compound annual growth rate over the last five years.
   
• LAB SAFETY SUPPLY, INC. Janesville, Wisconsin, is the leading business-to-business direct marketer of industrial and safety products in North America. Lab Safety Supply offers more than 70,000 products in seven product categories: safety, maintenance/MRO, material handling, labware, spill cleanup, first aid and signs/labels. The Ben Meadows acquisition will provide Lab Safety Supply with a leading position in the environmental and forestry markets and a new growth opportunity. Lab Safety Supply employs 800 in Janesville with a 900,000 square foot distribution facility.
   
• W.W. GRAINGER, INC., Lake Forest, Illinois, is the leading North American provider of maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) supplies and related information to businesses and institutions with sales of $5 billion. Grainger shares are traded on the New York and Chicago stock exchanges under the symbol GWW.