Wolseley plc (Reading, UK)has acquired, for cash, all of the issued and outstanding stock of Clayton Acquisition Co., based in Tampa, Fla., for $110 million. Clayton, the fourth largest wholesale distributor of waterworks, wastewater and storm drainage material in the United States, had sales of $226 million for the year ended Aug. 31.
Clayton operates 31 branches in six states: Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Georgia and Mississippi, and one each in Barbados and Trinidad. Florida accounted for about 70% of its total revenues in 2001.
The company also has custom fabrication operations that manufacture a variety of piping assemblies and applies protective coatings to pipe fittings and valves.
This acquisition will give Wolseley a major increase in market share in Florida, the fourth largest waterworks market in the United States, the company said in a statement. It will also give the group a presence in new markets in the southeastern region of the United States. Wolseley-owned Ferguson Enterprises (Newport News, Va.), already has waterworks operations in nine states: Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia. The Clayton acquisition will complement these existing operations.
Wolseley's U.S. building distribution includes Ferguson, Familian Northwest and Carolina Holdings.
