Home Depot is reuniting with former subsidiary HD Supply, buying the company in a deal valued at about $8 billion.

The acquisition will give Home Depot a stronger hand in the contractor and professional side of its business, which is booming during the pandemic, just like its more consumer facing, DIY sales.

HD Supply is a distributor of maintenance, repair and operations products in the multifamily and hospitality markets. Home Depot initially bought HD Supply in 1997, but sold it in 2007 when began to focus more on its retail operations.

Home Depot Chairman and CEO Craig Menear said in a prepared statement that the acquisition will give it access to HD Supply's extensive distribution network throughout the U.S. and Canada.

A subsidiary of Home Depot Inc. will pay $56 per share for HD Supply's common stock.

Home Depot re-entered the $55 billion maintenance, repair and operations market in 2015 when it spent $1.6 billion on Interline, now called The Home Depot Pro, in 2015. That acquisition allowed Home Depot to expand into projects in the education and healthcare sectors, hospitality businesses, and national, multi-family apartment complexes, according to Jefferies analyst Jonathan Matuszewski.

However, Home Depot only has a mid-single-digit percentage of the market, so the acquisition of HD Supply will help broaden its base of professional customers, Matuszewski wrote in a note to clients.

The HD Supply acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Home Depot, based in Atlanta, reports quarterly earnings Tuesday. Shares rose rose 2% to $279.25 Monday.