Spokane’s Jensen Distribution bought by Ace Hardware

Spokane-based Jensen Distribution Services has been acquired by Ace Hardware Corp., the Oak Brook, Illinois-based hardware cooperative announced this morning. Jensen Distribution was founded in 1883 and CEO Mike Jensen is a fourth-generation owner of the company. His son and daughter, Chris Jensen and Micah Dunlap, will remain with the company after the acquisition and “run the business as they do today,” according to a news release. Jensen Distribution is a wholesale hardware distributor with about $150 million in wholesale revenue and more than 2,000 customers in 11 Western states, the release said. Ace Hardware, a retailer-owned cooperative, will take Ace into wholesaling, providing hardware to independent lumber, paint, nursery, industrial and hardware outlets, the release said. Mike Jensen is retiring after running the company for more than 25 years.