CINCINNATI, May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wolseley plc, the world's
largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing, heating and building
materials products provides an update on recent acquisitions.
Since Wolseley's Interim results announcement on March 22, 2004 a further
five additional distribution businesses in Europe and North America have been
acquired for an aggregate consideration of approximately 44 million pounds
Sterling in cash.
These acquisitions bring Wolseley's total spend on acquisitions, including
debt acquired, since the beginning of the financial year, to approximately
122 million pounds. In total, the 14 acquisitions completed to date are
expected to add approximately 303 million pounds to group turnover in a full
year. Goodwill related to these 14 acquisitions is estimated to be around
50 million pounds.
Details of the additional five acquisitions are set out below.
North American Plumbing and Heating Distribution
In March 2004, Ferguson acquired Municipal Pipe and Fabricating Company
and Municipal Pipe and Fabricating Company S.W. ("Municipal Pipe"). Municipal
Pipe is a distributor of water and wastewater materials, including pipe,
valves, fittings and fire hydrants with locations in Houston, San Antonio,
Austin and Mission, Texas. The acquisition of Municipal Pipe extends
Ferguson's current waterworks presence within the state of Texas and
complements existing operations in Dallas, Austin and Corpus Christi.
Municipal Pipe had sales of 37.5 million pounds in the year to September 30,
2003 and net assets of 6.4 million pounds at that date.
Also in March 2004, Wolseley Canada acquired Salles de Bain du Coteau
Inc., a luxury bath showroom selling plumbing products primarily to
contractors and their customers in Terrebonne, Quebec. Salles de Bain du
Coteau had sales of 1.6 million pounds in the year to October 31, 2003 and net
assets of 0.6 million pounds at that date.
In May 2004, Wolseley Canada acquired Murray Industrial Ltd., a leading
supplier of industrial supplies based in St. John's, Newfoundland. Operating
from three branches, Murray Industrial has been providing industrial supplies
to the energy, mining, pulp and paper sectors for more than 20 years. It had
sales of 2.2 million pounds in the year to December 31, 2003 and net assets of
0.3 million pounds at that date. Murray Industrial will provide a platform for
Wolseley Canada to further develop its business in PVF, engineered pipe,
plumbing and HVAC/R in Newfoundland.
US Building Materials Distribution
In May 2004, Stock Building Supply acquired Bellevue Builders Supply of
Albany/Schenectady, NY. Bellevue operates from 7 branches, a distribution
center, a truss manufacturing center, a kitchen warehouse and a manufacturing
center that specializes in doors, stairs, worktops and wall panels. It had
sales of 53 million pounds in the year to December 31, 2003 and net assets of
15.2 million pounds at that date.
European Distribution
Also in May 2004, PBM in France acquired Quercy Negoce, a single branch
building materials distributor based in the north of France. Quercy Negoce had
sales of 1.8 million pounds in the year to December 31, 2003 and net assets of
0.2 million pounds at that date.
The segmental split of the total acquisition spend since August 1, 2003
has been:
Division No. of Acquisitions Spend
pounds million
European Distribution 3 57
US Building Materials Distribution 4 38
North American Plumbing &
Heating Distribution 7 27
TOTAL 14 122
Charlie Banks, Group Chief Executive of Wolseley said:
"As we said in our interim results on March 22, 2004, the underlying
performance of the group remains strong. These bolt-on acquisitions will
further strengthen our presence in Europe and North America, and they support
our strategy of growing the business via acquisition and organic growth."
Exchange Rates
The following exchange rates have been used for the five acquisitions
noted above: 1 pound = $1.80, 1 pound = 1.47 euro, 1 pound = C$2.46.
About Wolseley plc
Wolseley plc is the world's largest specialist trade distributor of
plumbing and heating products and a leading supplier of building materials to
professional contractors in North America, the UK and Continental Europe.
Group sales for the year ended July 31, 2003 were approximately 8.2 billion
pounds and operating profit, before goodwill, was 473 million pounds. Wolseley
has around 47,000 employees operating in 13 countries namely: UK, USA, France,
Canada, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic,
Hungary, Luxembourg and Denmark. Wolseley is listed on the London and New
York Stock Exchanges (LSE: WOL.L) (NYSE: WOS) and is in the FTSE 100 listed
companies.
| |
SOURCE Wolseley plc
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.wolseley.com
CONTACT:
Press-Investors, Guy Stainer, Head of
Investor Relations, 0118-929-8700, or John English, Director,
Investor Relations, North America, +1-513-771-9000, both of
Wolseley plc; or Nina Richmond of Brunswick, 020-7404-5959
| |
|
