13th Feb 2007 07:01
Wolseley PLC13 February 2007 NEWS RELEASE 13 February 2007 Wolseley plc Acquisitions Update£13 million spent on four acquisitions taking total for bolt on acquisitions for the year to date to £342 million Wolseley plc, the world's largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing andheating products to professional contractors and a leading supplier of buildingmaterials, announced today four further bolt on acquisitions for an aggregateconsideration of £13 million. In a full year, these bolt on acquisitions areexpected to add approximately £29 million to total revenue. Since the beginning of the financial year on 1 August 2006, a total of 33 bolton acquisitions in Europe and North America have been completed for an aggregateconsideration of approximately £342 million. These 33 acquisitions are expectedto add approximately £590 million to Group revenue in a full year. Goodwill andintangible assets related to these acquisitions is estimated to be around £225million. In addition, on 25 September 2006, Wolseley plc completed theacquisition of DT Group (formerly known as Danske Traelast) for an estimatedconsideration of £1,353 million, which brings aggregate acquisition spend forthe year to £1,695 million. North America On 5 February 2007, Ferguson acquired the assets of Grif-Fab Corporation("Grif-Fab") from members of the McVey family. Grif-Fab is a distributor andfabricator of fire protection systems with three locations in Colorado, Arizonaand New Mexico. In the year ended 30 November 2006, Grif-Fab had revenue of$28.3 million (£14.5 million) and gross assets of $6.9 million (£3.6 million) atthat date. Europe On 15 January 2007, DT Group acquired the outstanding 60% of Superbyg KalaallitNunaat A/S ("SKN"), which it did not previously own, from Pisiffik A/S. SKN is abuilders' merchant with locations in five cities in Greenland. In the year ended30 June 2006, SKN had total revenue of DKK106.2 million (£9.4 million) and grossassets of DKK60.1 million (£5.3 million) at that date. On 1 February 2007, DT Group acquired the assets of Jarn och Tra Orust AB("JTO") from Animonhus AB. JTO is a Swedish builders' merchant based in Orust,the second largest island in the west coast archipelago. In the year ended 31December 2005, JTO had revenue of SEK40.2 million (£2.9 million) and grossassets of SEK8.8 million (£0.6 million) at that date. On 1 February 2007, Wolseley France acquired SA Escaffre & Fils and Eurl EspaceCarrelages ("Escaffre") from Escaffre Developpment. Escaffre is a generalistbuilders' merchant and ceramic tiles specialist based in Albi, south of France.In the year ended 31 December 2005, Escaffre had revenue of €9.1 million (£6.0million) and gross assets of €3.5 million (£2.3 million) at that date. The divisional split of the total acquisition spend since 1 August 2006 is: Division No. of Acquisitions Spend £ Million Europe 16 89North America 17 253TOTAL BOLT ONS 33 342Acquisition of DT Group 1 1,353TOTAL ACQUISITION SPEND 34 1,695 Chip Hornsby, Group Chief Executive of Wolseley said: "Our aim is to continue to grow the business through organic means and from goodquality acquisitions. These four deals support that aim." ENQUIRIES: Guy Stainer +44 118 929 8744Head of Investor Relations +44 7739 778187 John English +1 513 771 9000Vice President, Investor Relations, North America +1 513 328 4900 Brunswick +44 20 7404 5959Andrew FenwickNina Coad Exchange Rates The following exchange rate has been used for the acquisitions noted above:£1 = $1.95, £1 = €1.51, £1 = DKK11.25, £1 = SEK13.67 Certain statements included in this announcement may be forward-looking and mayinvolve risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results todiffer materially from those expressed or implied by the forward lookingstatements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, projectionsrelating to results of operations and financial conditions and the Company'splans and objectives for future operations including, without limitation,discussions of the Company's business and financial plans, expected futurerevenues and expenditures, investments and disposals, risks associated withchanges in economic conditions, the strength of the plumbing and heating andbuilding materials market in North America and Europe, fluctuations in productprices and changes in exchange and interest rates. All forward-lookingstatements in this respect are based upon information known to the Company onthe date of this announcement. The Company undertakes no obligation to publiclyupdate or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of newinformation, future events or otherwise. It is not reasonably possible toitemise all of the many factors and events that could cause the Company'sforward-looking statements to be incorrect or that could otherwise have amaterial adverse effect on the future operations or results of the Company. Notes to Editors Wolseley plc is the world's largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing andheating products to professional contractors and a leading supplier of buildingmaterials in North America, the UK and Continental Europe. Group revenue for theyear ended 31 July 2006 was approximately £14.2 billion and operating profit,before amortisation of acquired intangibles, was £882 million. Wolseley hasaround 79,000 employees operating in 28 countries namely: UK, USA, France,Canada, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic,Hungary, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Slovak Republic,Poland, Romania, Croatia, San Marino, Panama, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago,Mexico, Barbados and Greenland. Wolseley is listed on the London and New YorkStock Exchanges (LSE: WOS, NYSE: WOS) and is in the FTSE 100 index of listedcompanies. -- ENDS -- This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Ferguson