August 27, 2008 -- Anixter International Inc., a global distributor of communication products, electrical and electronic wire and cable, fasteners, and other small parts, headquartered near Chicago, announced that it has acquired all of the outstanding shares of Sofrasar SA (Sofrasar) and partnership interests and shares in Camille Gergen GmbH & Co, KG and Camille Gergen Verwaltungs GmbH (collectively: Gergen) from the Gergen family and management of the entities.
Sofrasar is headquartered in Sarreguemines, France and Gergen is based in Dillingen, Germany. Both companies are fastener distributors that will complement Anixter's product offering along with offering a broad array of value-added services and supply chain management programs to OEMs in a number of vertical markets.
Anixter is paying approximately $40 million in cash and assuming approximately $19 million in debt for all of the outstanding shares and partnership interests of these two companies. The combined annualized sales for these businesses are expected to be in excess of $110 million in 2008.
Commenting on the acquisition, Bob Eck, president and CEO of Anixter, said, "Consistent with the strategy we have articulated, the acquisitions of Sofrasar and Gergen represent important steps in the geographic expansion of our OEM Supply business in Europe. Through the addition of numerous important customers, primarily in France and Germany, we have added another key building block that will drive future organic growth in this important global end market."
"In addition to being immediately accretive to earnings, we anticipate that these acquisitions will add 10 to 12 cents to diluted earnings per share during our first full year of ownership," added Eck. "When combined with our existing OEM supply businesses in Europe, we anticipate annual revenues of approximately $800 million in this market over the next year. The addition of these businesses will significantly enhance our OEM supply business in Europe and add considerable depth to our footprint in the area as we will now be serving customers in 11 countries throughout the continent."
On the Web:
www.anixter.com
www.sofrasar.fr/
