MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 21, 2017--
Watsco, Inc. (NYSE: WSO) announced today that its Carrier Enterprise
business unit, a joint venture between Watsco and Carrier, has acquired
35% ownership of Russell Sigler, Inc. The investment continues Watsco’s
strategy to partner with well-established businesses and represents an
investment in the important Western U.S. region.
Russell Sigler, Inc., established in 1950, is one of the largest HVAC
distributors in North America with annual sales of approximately $650
million. It serves over 10,000 customers from 30 locations throughout
Arizona, California, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada and portions of Texas.
Products sold include residential and commercial HVAC equipment
manufactured by Carrier as well as parts, supplies and accessories
sourced from over 700 vendors. Consideration for the purchase was
approximately $63.6 million paid in cash. Watsco has exclusive rights to
purchase ownership interests from current shareholders that may elect to
sell in the future.
Albert Nahmad, Watsco's Chairman & Chief Executive Officer said: “One of
the great stories and legacies of a family business in our industry is
that of Russell Sigler. He built a great business, raised a wonderful
family and was a true legend in every sense of the word. The Sigler
organization has our respect, admiration and commitment to provide ideas
and assistance to build on its historical success. It is truly an honor
to become part of the Sigler family.”
About Watsco
Watsco provides comfort to homes and businesses regardless of the
outdoor climate. There are approximately 92 million central air
conditioning and heating systems installed in the United States that
have been in service more than 10 years. Older systems often operate
below today’s government mandated energy efficiency and environmental
standards. Watsco has an opportunity to accelerate the replacement of
these systems at a scale greater than its competitors as the movement
toward reducing energy consumption and its environmental impact
continues. This is especially important since heating and cooling
accounts for approximately half of the energy consumed in a typical U.S.
home.
Watsco’s traditional sales channel is the industry’s largest and
currently serves 88,000 contractor businesses through 561 locations in
the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, and on an export
basis to Latin America and the Caribbean. Watsco is a technology
company, operating scalable platforms for mobile apps, e-commerce,
business intelligence and supply chain. Strategic goals are to
accelerate sales and profit growth, increase the speed and convenience
of serving customers and to extend its reach into new geographies and
sales channels. Watsco is also developing technologies to address the
evolving buying habits of consumers in the digital economy. Over the
long-term, Watsco believes its focus, scale and innovative culture offer
significant advantages to address the consumer market, which is
estimated to be $88 billion annually. Additional information about
Watsco may be found at http://www.watsco.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document includes certain “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as
“will,” “would,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “believe,” “plan,”
“optimistic,” “goal” or “intend,” the negative of these terms and
similar references to future periods. These statements are based on
management’s current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and
changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from
these expectations due to changes in economic, business, competitive
market, new housing starts and completions, capital spending in
commercial construction, consumer spending and debt levels, regulatory
and other factors, including, without limitation, the effects of
supplier concentration, competitive conditions within Watsco’s industry,
seasonal nature of sales of Watsco’s products, the ability of the
Company to expand its business, insurance coverage risks and final GAAP
adjustments. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the
statement was made. Watsco assumes no obligation to update
forward-looking information to reflect actual results, changes in
assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking
information, except as required by applicable law. Detailed information
about these factors and additional important factors can be found in the
documents that Watsco files with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
such as Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170621005266/en/
Source: Watsco, Inc.
Watsco, Inc.
Barry S. Logan, 305-714-4102
Senior
Vice President
blogan@watsco.com