May 7, 2008 - Modern Distribution Management

May 7, 2008

Night & Day for M&A

I recently spoke with the three panelists who will be on the third annual MDM Distribution M&A 2008 Update call on May 22 -Brent Grover, Jim Miller and Jon Skelly. They all described how radically things have changed in less than 12 months in merger and acquisition activity in distribution. Here are a few quick takeaways from that call.
 
A year ago, financial buyers were driving the market with still-high EBITDA multiples and a lot of deal activity. Activity and pricing have dropped significantly in 2008. Debt markets have tightened, and private equity has its hands tied with very different capital structures. Strategic buyers could not compete a year ago with the multiples; this year they are competitive …

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Sonepar’s Plans for Hagemeyer

Sonepar USA plans to approach the integration of Hagemeyer’s U.S. assets much like it does any other company it acquires, CEO Tony Burr tells MDM in a recent interview. It has a different customer base, predominantly, and a different market approach,” he says. Sonepar has not yet acquired Dutch electrical distributor Hagemeyer’s assets in North America, Asia-Pacific and select European markets from Paris-based Rexel, but the plan is to do so before the end of the year.
 
Sonepar’s strategy is to leave acquired companies’ trading names and management in place; with this operating structure, the distributor recognizes that distribution is largely a local business and that it is important to cater to local needs.
 
In Hagemeyer’s case, “We’ll find there will be some …

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