Sonepar Continues Acquisition Surge with Purchase of New England’s Rockingham

Sonepar, Charleston, SC, announced that its NorthEast Electrical business plans to acquire Rockingham Electrical Supply Co., Newington, NH. It’s the third major acquisition for Sonepar in 2022, as the company has also acquired PEPCO, Eastlake, OH; and Advance Electrical & Industrial, Norcross, GA. Counting these deals and the Warshauer Electric Supply, Crescent and Green Mountain Electric Supply purchases mentioned in this issue, at least 18 electrical distributors have been sold in 2022 (see chart on bottom of page).

A family-owned business since 1954, Rockingham offers a full line of electrical products and services to its customers. Operating in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, the company joins Sonepar with 10 branch locations and over 100 associates.

“The acquisition of Rockingham Electrical will increase our coverage in the Northeast market, extending the Sonepar network with valued customers in these new growth areas,” said Rob Taylor, president of Sonepar North America in the press release. “We see great potential in both the residential and commercial business segments and look forward to bringing new capabilities to Rockingham’s customers.”

Jim Pender Sr., current owner and CEO of Rockingham Electrical, added in the release, “As a third-generation business that has deep relationships with our customers, this is a very exciting time for us. When we looked across our options, we felt Sonepar offered the best cultural fit for our employees, as well as great potential to grow business opportunities. Having operated in some of the same New England markets, we know NorthEast Electrical demonstrates a high level of expertise and integrity across all they do.”

Rockingham was ranked #89 on EW’s 2022 Top 150 ranking. Sonepar North America is in the #2 spot.

Click here for Electrical Marketing's database of more than 600 distributors acquisitions going back to the 1990s.