Top 40 distributor Brown & Bigelow (asi/148500) has announced the purchase of Washington, D.C.-based Specialties Inc. (asi/331340). Financial terms and valuations of the deal, made public this afternoon, were not disclosed.

Joel Kaplan (left) and Bill Smith 

“We’re very excited to have an organization the caliber of Specialties, Inc. join the Brown & Bigelow family,” said Bill Smith, president and CEO of B&B, in a statement. “We look forward to continuing their excellent reputation and service to their clients.”

Founded in 1984 by Joel Kaplan, Specialties, Inc. will maintain its “order processing and supplier relationships” in its D.C. and Rockville, MD, offices, the companies said. “It’s been a wonderful run for me in this industry, but it was time for me to sell my business and to partner with a national distributor to support our next stage of growth,” added Kaplan. “We chose Brown & Bigelow because their unique business model allows us to maintain our identity and to support our sales executives and customers locally.”

In its latest listing, Counselor ranked Minnesota-based Brown & Bigelow as the 30th largest distributor in the market, with estimated 2017 North American promotional products sales of $57 million.