In short: Historical: he bought 22% of BMC out of bankruptcy, joined the board, reverse-merged it into Stock Building Supply — a step in the Builders FirstSource consolidation. The business was great even though management "really wasn't very good."
BMC was a building-products distributor Robotti bought 22% of as it emerged from bankruptcy. He joined the board and reverse-merged it into Stock Building Supply — one step in the long consolidation that eventually rolled up into Builders FirstSource.
It's also his clearest illustration of Buffett's maxim: the management "really wasn't very good," but the business was so good that it worked anyway — and skipping it over management worries would have been a major mistake.
15:30also widen its footprint, substantially increases the earnings power of the business. And that's what happened. So BMC that we acquired the stake of, that I had gone on the board of, we reverse merged into Stock Building Supply. Builders FirstSource went out and bought the largest company in the business because again good things happen when the businesses stayed weak for a long time.
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