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he ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Depot, the nation's largest home-improvement store chain, said it plans to buy Hughes Supply, a distributor of construction, repair and maintenance products, for about $3.2 billion, the Associated Press reported.

he deal would double the size of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Depot’s supply division, which serves business customers such as homebuilders, contractors, municipalities and maintenance professionals, AP said.

ughes, Orlando, Fla., is one of the largest U.S. wholesale distributors of construction, repair and maintenance-related products, and has more than 500 locations in 40 states, AP reported.

The pending purchase will create the nation's largest diversified distributor of construction, repair and maintenance-related products, and the two companies will serve a $410 billion market, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Depot spokeswoman Paula Smith told AP.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Depot said it will pay $46.50 per outstanding share for Hughes Supply, a premium of nearly 21% over Hughes' closing price Monday of $38.55, AP said. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Depot will also assume $285 million in net debt as part of the deal.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Depot is not listed in the Transport Topics Private 100 listing of North American private carriers because it outsources most of its transportation.