Brent Dennis and his brother Randy on Thursday announced sale of Dennis Company to a division of the Ace Hardware Corp. Brent Dennis is pictured accepting an award recognizing his firm as one of Pacific County's 2016 businesses of the year.

LONG BEACH — Dennis Company has been sold to the Ace Hardware Corp. in a transaction that will become final March 26.

Owned by the Dennis family since 1905, the local company owns five stores in Long Beach, Raymond, Aberdeen, Montesano and Elma. In recent years, it has been operated by brothers Brent and Randy Dennis, while their father Gary led the firm in the latter part of the 20th century.

The firm said in a press release that the stores “will retain the Dennis Company name, management, store associates, and a unique and large selection of products.” Dennis Company has about 85 employees.

The sales price has not been disclosed. Word of a sale had been circulating in Pacific County for several months.

The purchaser is technically Westlake Ace Hardware, based in Lenexa, Kansas, with stores also located in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. In 2012, Westlake was acquired by Ace Retail Holdings, which in turn is a division of Ace Hardware Corp.

“The new ownership will continue to be an active participant in the communities they serve,” Dennis Company said in its release. The Dennis family has played key roles in Pacific County, for example leading revival of the Long Beach Razor Clam Festival.

“We are excited to welcome the Dennis Company into the Westlake family, expand our relationship within the communities they serve and continue their proud tradition of outstanding customer service,” Westlake president and CEO Joe Jeffries said in the press release.

On its website, Westlake said without reference to this specific acquisition that “While the merchandise may have changed, along with store locations and size, the commitment to be the best neighborhood hardware store in the market remains. This commitment is what has kept Westlake strong for its first century of service — and will keep us growing into our next century.”