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Breaking news in Wholesale Distribution
Ryerson Inc., Chicago, IL, reported sales of $5.9 billion for 2006, up 2.2% from 2005. Profit was $71.8 million, compared with $98.1 million in 2005.
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In the fourth quarter, Ryerson recorded a net loss of $4.4 million, compared with a profit of $6.3 million in 2005. Sales in the fourth quarter were $1.4 billion.
Fourth quarter 2006 volume, as anticipated, reflected the typical year-end slowdown, exacerbated by high inventories in a variety of products throughout the supply chain,” said CEO Neil S. Novich. “Additionally, this excess industry-wide inventory, coupled with an extraordinary run up in stainless steel prices, due to nickel surcharges (up an average of about $700 per ton from the third …
Saint-Gobain’s Building Distribution Sector has acquired Galvano Groothandel BV (the Netherlands), Schulte Tiefbau (Germany) and four companies belonging to the Norman group (Channel Isles).
Galvano Groothandel BV is a plumbing-heating wholesaler in the Netherlands. With estimated sales of 84 million euros in 2006, the company has 177 employees. Through this acquisition, Saint-Gobain Building Distribution establishes a foothold on the Dutch distribution market for plumbing-heating products and strengthens its European Division dedicated to this market.
Germany’s specialist civil engineering distributor, Schulte Tiefbau operates 13 branches specializing in water supply. With sales of 62 million euros …
B & D Industrial, Macon, GA, a regional industrial distributor, has acquired Simco Technologies, an Atlanta-based distributor of industrial electronics, sensors, drives, motion control, machine safety and machine vision systems.
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The B & D Industrial holding company provides industrial products and services to mining, manufacturing, engineering and OEM companies from its almost 40 facilities in Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama.
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Simco Technologies’ industrial automation products will complement the other areas of focus for B & D Industrial. Simco operates out of its branch …
Watsco, Inc., distributor of air conditioning and heating products, reported sales of $1.8 billion in 2006, a 7% increase from 2005. Profit was $82.4 million.
Fourth-quarter sales were $388 million.
  ; “2006 was one of enormous change as virtually half the products we sell were transitioned to new families of higher-efficiency products. We expect these new products to provide a unique and sustainable sales opportunity for us given consumers’ high degree of sensitivity and focus on energy costs, President and CEO Albert H. Nahmad said.
The Watsco network expanded by 28 locations in 2006, including locations opened to enhance local service and locations acquired adding new customers, products and market share. Revenues contributed by new …
Ferguson has acquired Grif-Fab Corporation, a distributor and fabricator of fire protection systems with three locations in Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. In the year ended Nov. 30, 2006, Grif-Fab had revenue of $28.3 million.
UK-based Wolseley plc, Ferguson’s parent company, has recently made three other bolt-on acquisitions in addition to the Grif-Fab buy. The four in total will add 29 million pounds, or $37.7 million, to annual revenues.
Since Aug. 1, 2006, Wolseley has made 33 acquisitions in Europe and North America totaling 342 million pounds, or $458 million.
BlueLinx Holdings Inc., Atlanta, GA, distributor of building products, reported sales of $4.9 billion, down 12.9% from $5.62 billion a year ago, reflecting lower structural product prices and unit volume. Profit was $15.8 million, compared with $44.6 million a year ago.
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CEO Stephen Macadam said:  ; As a distributor of building products, we continued to experience a sharp drop in demand that began earlier in the year as housing starts continued their slowdown and prices for wood-based structural products remained sharply below year-ago levels. The fall-off in demand was exacerbated by ongoing inventory reductions throughout the supply chain, and by the normal seasonal business slowdown associated with the winter months.
Macadam said …
The New York Times reported today that some of the country’s biggest buyout firms have approached Home Depot CEO Frank Blake – put in place after Robert Nardelli resigned  ; – with proposals to buy $12 billion HD Supply.
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The Times says analysts expect HD could sell the fast-growing division for $9 billion.
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The article goes on to discuss HD Supply’s profit margins as slimmer than retail, and HD’s need to find a way to grow the retail side of the company. Synergies between wholesale and retail have yet to be realized, according to the piece.
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Home Depot announced Monday that it was considering strategic alternatives for HD Supply, including a possible sale, spin off or initial public offering.
New …
< Emerson, St. Louis, MO, sales for the first quarter ended Dec. 31, 2006,  ; were $5.1 billion, an increase of 11% over the $4.5 billion reported in the same period last year. Profit for the first   ; quarter increased 12% to $445 million.
Underlying international sales increased 11%, including strong growth in Europe, Asia and Latin America. This quarter marked the first time that international sales were over 50% of total  ; sales.  ; As expected, underlying growth in the U.S. was down 2% driven primarily by weakness in the  ; residential air-conditioning markets for the Climate Technologies segment, which experienced exceptionally strong growth last  ; year as the industry converted to 13-SEER …
The bidding war between The Carlyle Group and Building Materials Corporation of America for ElkCorp has ended, with The Carlyle Group dropping its offer for the roofing and building products manufacturer.
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An affiliate of Building Materials Corporation of America (BMCA), a roofing manufacturer in North America, has agreed to buy ElkCorp for $43.50 a share in cash, or about $1.12 billion, including the assumption of about $173 million in debt.
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The offer represents a 73% premium over ElkCorp’s closing share price on Nov. 3, 2006, the last trading day before ElkCorp announced it was considering strategic alternatives.
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ElkCorp terminated its previous merger agreement with Carlyle.
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BMCA, …
Building Materials Holding Corporation, San Francisco, CA, provider of construction services and products to the homebuilding industry, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, SelectBuild Construction, has terminated its letter of intent to acquire Willis Roof Consulting Inc.  ;
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In October of 2006, BMHC announced SelectBuild’s intention to acquire 100% of the assets and operations of Willis Roof Consulting, subject to completion of due diligence activities.
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