Home Depot buying supplier to professional contractors in a deal valued at about $18.25 billion

Home Depot will buy SRS Distribution, a materials provider for professionals, in a deal valued at approximately $18.25 billion including debt.

It is Home Depot's largest acquisition in its history and with it, it steps more aggressively into the fast growing professional builder and contactor business. Retail sales that boomed during the pandemic have faded and the company has intensified its focus on the professional market for sales.

SRS provides materials for professionals like roofers, landscapers and pool contractors.

Home Depot is making a big bet on a housing market that is suffering a severe lack of new homes, which has driven prices sky high. The median sales price for new homes in the U.S. has climbed 29.4% over the past five years. In the fourth quarter, the median sales prices totaled $417,700, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.