Wolseley plc Acquisitions Update

66 million pounds spent on four acquisitions taking total for bolt on acquisitions for the year to date to 328 million pounds 


CINCINNATI, Jan. 11  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wolseley plc, the world's largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a leading supplier of building materials, announced today four further bolt on acquisitions for an aggregate consideration of 66 million pounds Sterling. In a full year, these bolt on acquisitions are expected to add approximately 116 million pounds to total revenue.

Since the beginning of the financial year on August 1, 2006, a total of twenty-nine bolt on acquisitions in Europe and North America have been completed for an aggregate consideration of approximately 328 million pounds. These twenty-nine acquisitions are expected to add approximately 560 million pounds to Group revenue in a full year. Goodwill and intangible assets related to these acquisitions is estimated to be around 219 million pounds. In addition, on September 25, 2006, Wolseley plc completed the acquisition of DT Group (formerly known as Danske Traelast) for an estimated consideration of 1,353 million pounds, which brings aggregate acquisition spend for the year to 1,681 million pounds.

North America

On December 29, 2006, Cal-Steam Supply, Inc. and affiliated corporations ("Cal-Steam") were acquired from Stuart D. Corvin, Dana A. Corvin and Adele K. Corvin. Cal-Steam is a distributor of plumbing products with ten locations, primarily in the San Francisco Bay area. This acquisition will add to Wolseley's established strength in the residential and commercial plumbing segment and will benefit from Wolseley's new Stockton, California distribution center due to be completed later this year. In the year ended December 31, 2005, Cal-Steam had revenue of $148.6 million (76.6 million pounds) and gross assets of $21.9 million (11.3 million pounds) at that date.

On December 18, 2006, Ferguson acquired the assets of Guntersville Fabrication and Sprinkler Co., Inc. and Guntersville Pipe and Supply ("Guntersville") from Tim Bice. Guntersville is a distributor and fabricator of fire protection systems with three locations in the southeastern region of the USA serving Ohio Valley, Florida, Georgia and Louisiana. This acquisition supports Wolseley's strategy of expanding its presence in the distribution and fabrication of fire protection systems market. In the year ended October 31, 2006, Guntersville had revenue of $31.5 million (16.2 million pounds) and gross assets of $6.7 million (3.4 million pounds) at that date.

Europe

On December 22, 2006, Wolseley UK acquired R J Hosking Building Supplies Limited ("Hosking") from Roger and Sandra Hosking. Hosking operates from a single branch in Porthleven, Cornwall that offers a wide range of building materials with an emphasis on heavy side materials such as bricks, blocks, aggregates and timber, which will complement Wolseley UK's existing businesses in the area. In the year ended April 30, 2006, Hosking had revenue of 3.9 million pounds and gross assets 1.0 million pounds at that date.

On December 22, 2006, Wasco acquired Kopex Groothandel in Sanitaire Installatie Artikelen B.V., Kopex Apeldorn B.V., Kopex Tilburg B.V., Van Deursen Technische Handelsonderneming, B.V. ("Kopex") from Roverts Beheer B.V. Kopex is a distributor of sanitary products operating from nine locations around Holland supplying professional plumbers. This acquisition supports Wasco's strategy of expanding its product range and increasing its presence in the repairs, maintenance and improvement markets. In the year ended December 31, 2005, Kopex had revenue of euro 29.0 million (19.6 million pounds) and gross assets of euro 10.5 million (7.1 million pounds) at that date.

The divisional split of the total acquisition spend since August 1, 2006 is:

  Division                             No. of              Spend
                                     Acquisitions      Pounds Million
  Europe                                 13                   80
  North America                          16                  248
  TOTAL BOLT ONS                         29                  328
  Acquisition of DT Group                 1                1,353
  TOTAL ACQUISITION SPEND                30                1,681




Chip Hornsby, Group Chief Executive of Wolseley said, "We are delighted to announce these four bolt on acquisitions which build on our successful growth strategy across Europe and North America."

Exchange Rates

The following exchange rate has been used for the acquisitions noted above: 1 pound = $1.94, 1 pound = euro 1.48

Certain statements included in this announcement may be forward-looking and may involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward- looking statements.  Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, projections relating to results of operations and financial conditions and the Company's plans and objectives for future operations including, without limitation, discussions of the Company's business and financial plans, expected future revenues and expenditures, investments and disposals, risks associated with changes in economic conditions, the strength of the plumbing and heating and building materials market in North America and Europe, fluctuations in product prices and changes in exchange and interest rates. All forward-looking statements in this respect are based upon information known to the Company on the date of this announcement. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. It is not reasonably possible to itemize all of the many factors and events that could cause the Company's forward-looking statements to be incorrect or that could otherwise have a material adverse effect on the future operations or results of the Company.

About Wolseley plc

Wolseley plc is the world's largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a leading supplier of building materials in North America, the UK and Continental Europe. Group revenues for the year ended July 31, 2006 were approximately 14.2 billion pounds and operating profit, before amortization of acquired intangibles, was 882 million pounds. Wolseley has around 79,000 employees operating in 27 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 and Barbados. Wolseley is listed on the London and New York Stock Exchanges (LSE:WOS.L)(NYSE:WOS) and is in the FTSE 100 index of listed companies. 

DATASOURCE: Wolseley plc



CONTACT:  Guy Stainer of Wolseley plc, Head of Investor Relations,

[phone] or [phone], or John R. English of Wolseley plc, Vice

President Investor Relations, North America, [phone] or

[phone], or Andrew Fenwick or Nina Coad of Brunswick,

[phone]

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