Home Depot to Buy Maintenance Warehouse

Home Depot Inc. said it will buy Maintenance Warehouse/America Corp., a direct-mail marketer of maintenance and repair supplies. Terms of the all-stock transaction were not disclosed. San Diego-based Maintenance Warehouse, which had sales of $130 million for 1996, will help Home Depot increase its commercial sales, the nation’s largest home improvement retailer said. The purchase is expected to have a neutral effect on Atlanta-based Home Depot’s earnings.