March 28 (Reuters) - Home Depot ( HD ) will buy building

materials supplier SRS Distribution in an $18.25 billion deal

including debt, the retailer said on Thursday, bolstering its

business among professional customers to counter weak home

improvement demand.

The U.S. home improvement industry is staring at sluggish

recovery in demand this year, as big home remodeling and

renovation projects take a backseat as customers spend

judiciously due to sticky inflation.

As a result, Home Depot's ( HD ) Do-It-Yourself segment has

remained under pressure and the company has banked on relatively

steady demand from "Pro-customers" - including professional

builders, contractors, handymen - to drive sales.

The acquisition of SRS, which serves Pro-customers including

roofers, landscapers and pool contractors, would expand Home

Depot's ( HD ) total potential market by about $50 billion to roughly

$1 trillion, the company said.

"SRS has built a robust and successful platform that will

accelerate our growth with the residential professional

customer," Home Depot ( HD ) CEO Ted Decker said in a statement.

The transaction will unite SRS's network of more than 2,500

professional sales force and over 4,000 truck fleet and jobsite

delivery capabilities to Home Depot's ( HD ) network of more than 2,000

U.S. stores and distribution centers.

A subsidiary of Home Depot ( HD ) will buy SRS and the deal will be

funded through cash on hand as well as debt.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of fiscal

2024.