Home Depot Inc. agreed to buy building products distributor HD Supply Holdings Inc. for about US$9.1 billion, reuniting the home-improvement retailer with its former subsidiary more than a decade after they split apart.

Home Depot will buy all outstanding shares for about US$56 apiece, according to a statement Monday, representing a premium of about 25 per cent over HD Supply’s closing price on Friday. Including net cash, the offer has an enterprise value of about US$8 billion. The deal, to be funded by cash on hand and debt, is expected to be completed in the fiscal fourth quarter ending Jan. 31.

The acquisition brings back together two companies that used to be under the same roof and will give Home Depot more exposure to the professional contractor side of the business. Like do-it-yourself repairs, that segment has boomed during the pandemic as Americans want to improve the homes they’re spending more time in.

Home Depot increased less than one per cent early Monday. It rose 27 per cent through Friday’s close, while HD Supply was up 11 per cent year to date.

Home Depot sold the construction-supply unit to a group of buyout firms -- Carlyle Group LP, Bain Capital LLC and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC -- in 2007. That deal was initially valued at US$10.3 billion including debt, but in the midst of the housing crash, it was scaled back to US$8.5 billion. The chain then went public 2013.