Vinings-based Home Depot has cleared a key hurdle for a $5.5 billion acquisition of specialty building products distributor GMS Inc.

The home improvement giant announced Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice ended its waiting period for antitrust clearance early.

That satisfies one of the conditions for the acquisition of Tucker-based GMS by Home Depot subsidiary SRS Distribution, a deal that was first announced in June.

The transaction is still subject to clearance from Canadian authorities, and Home Depot’s current tender offer for the deal expires at 11:59 p.m. Friday evening. Home Depot previously extended its tender offer from Aug. 8 to Aug. 22, and it could be extended further.

The GMS acquisition is part of a broader strategy by Home Depot to gain more business from profe

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