Wolseley plc Acquisitions Update

15 million pounds spent on five acquisitions taking total for bolt on acquisitions for the year to date to 374 million pounds 


CINCINNATI, July 5  /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 five further bolt on acquisitions for an aggregate consideration of 15 million pounds Sterling. In a full year, these bolt on acquisitions are expected to add approximately 28 million pounds to total revenue.

Since the beginning of the financial year on August 1, 2006, a total of 41 bolt on acquisitions in Europe and North America have been completed for an aggregate consideration of approximately 374 million pounds. These 41 acquisitions are expected to add approximately 656 million pounds to Group revenue in a full year. Goodwill and intangible assets related to these acquisitions are estimated to be around 258 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 1,339 million pounds, which brings aggregate acquisition spend for the year to 1,713 million pounds.

  Details of the latest five acquisitions are as follows:

  North America


On May 14, 2007, Wolseley Canada acquired Maverick Supplies Limited ("Maverick") from Kathy Davies, Rick Davies and Bergum Equities Inc. Maverick is a wholesale distributor of pipe, valves, fittings and industrial supplies to oil and natural gas companies and oilfield contractors with six locations in south central Alberta. In the year ended September 30, 2006, Maverick had revenue of CAD$17.5 million (8.3 million pounds) and gross assets of CAD$2.0 million (0.9 million pounds) at that date.

On July 2, 2007, Stock Building Supply acquired certain assets of Hollow Metal Specialists, Inc. ("HMS") from Patricia, Michael, Patrick and Timothy Hilliard. HMS is a fabricator, distributor and installer of commercial doors, hardware and access control devices for commercial and institutional projects, based in Sarasota Florida. In the year ended December 31, 2006, HMS had revenue of $15.4 million (7.7 million pounds) and gross assets of $1.9 million (1.0 million pounds) at that date.

Europe

On June 1, 2007, Wolseley France acquired Etablissements Lebrun SAS ("Lebrun") from Jean-Claude Lebrun, Anne-Sophie Thieffry, Marie-Charlotte Lebrun and Emerantine Lebrun. Lebrun is a generalist builders' merchant based in one location south east of Paris. In the year ended December 31, 2006, Lebrun had total revenue of 2.8 million euros (1.9 million pounds) and gross assets of 0.5 million euros (0.3 million pounds) at that date.

On June 1, 2007, DT Group acquired H.R. Sandvold AS ("Sandvold") from HS Investering AS and Bukkevik Invest AS. Situated in Haugesund, on the west coast of Norway, Sandvold is a plumbing wholesaler and in recent years has extended its product range into kitchens, bathrooms and bathroom accessories. This acquisition will enable DT Group to expand its lightside product offering to complement its extensive heavyside range. In the year ended December 31, 2006, Sandvold had revenue of NOK58.5 million (4.9 million pounds) and gross assets of NOK13.3 million (1.1 million pounds) at that date.

On June 22, 2007, DT Group acquired A/S Baagoe & Riber ("Baagoe & Riber") from Baagoe & Riber Holding A/S, Hans Jorgen Riber, Ulla Riber, Susanne Riber, Jens Peter Riber and Marni Holmquist. Baagoe & Riber, a builders merchant, is based in Svendborg in the south of Funen, the second largest island in Denmark. In the year ended December 31, 2006, Baagoe & Riber had revenue of DKK51.8 million (4.7 million pounds) and gross assets of DKK20.9 million (1.9 million pounds) at that date.

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

                                     No. of                 Spend
  Division                         Acquisitions         Million Pounds
  Europe                               20                      91
  North America                        21                     283
  TOTAL BOLT ONS                       41                     374
  Acquisition of DT Group               1                   1,339
  TOTAL ACQUISITION SPEND              42                   1,713


  Chip Hornsby, Group Chief Executive of Wolseley said:


"We are pleased to announce these five bolt on acquisitions which continue to build on our strategy of growth through acquisitions and organic means. The acquisition of Sandvold introduces a specialist plumbing distributor into DT Group and HMS helps Stock Building Supply develop their commercial sales initiative."

Exchange Rates

The following exchange rate has been used for the acquisitions noted above:

  1 pound = $2.00, 1 pound = CAD$2.10, 1 pound = 1.47 euros,
  1 pound = NOK11.92, 1 pound = DKK11.05



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 revenue for the year ended July 31, 2006 was approximately 14.2 billion pounds and operating profit, before amortization of acquired intangibles, was 882 million pounds. Wolseley has around 78,000 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 York Stock Exchanges (LSE:WOS)(NYSE:WOS) and is in the FTSE 100 index of listed companies. 

DATASOURCE: Wolseley plc



CONTACT:  Guy Stainer, Group Investor Relations Director,

[phone], [phone]; John R. English, Vice President, Investor

Relations, North America, [phone], [phone]; Brunswick: Andrew

Fenwick or Nina Coad, [phone], all of Wolseley plc



Web site:  http://www.wolseley.com/ 

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