Companies and Brands

GMS Gears Up for IPO

Chris Lange

Published: January 6, 2016 9:10 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 3:23 pm

GMS has filed an amended S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its initial public offering (IPO). In the filing, no pricing details were provided, although the offering is valued up to $200 million. The company intends to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GMS.

The underwriters for the offering are Barclays, Credit Suisse, RBC Capital Markets, Baird, Wells Fargo, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Raymond James and Stephens.

This is the leading North American distributor of wallboard and suspended ceilings systems. Its product offerings are designed to provide a comprehensive solution for its core customer, the interior contractor who installs these products in commercial and residential buildings.

Since its founding in 1971, GMS has grown its business from a single location to over 155 branches across 36 states through a combination of both organic growth and acquisitions. Over time, the company has increased its market share in the distribution of wallboard and ceilings, which management currently estimates is 11% for wallboard, based on volume produced in the United States and Canada, and 14% for ceilings, based on sales dollars in North America.

The company described its finances as follows:

For fiscal 2015, we generated $1.6 billion in net sales, $113.9 million of Adjusted EBITDA and $13.8 million of net loss. … Net sales and Adjusted EBITDA grew 16.0% and 30.8%, respectively, in fiscal 2015 as compared to full year 2014. Over the past four years, net sales and Adjusted EBITDA have grown at a compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 15.5% and 59.2%, respectively.

GMS intends to use the proceeds from this offering to repay its indebtedness plus accrued and unpaid interest and premium, with the remaining proceeds going toward general corporate purposes.