CRH has reached an agreement to buy C.R. Laurence Co., Inc. (CRL), a North American manufacturer and distributor of custom hardware and installation products for the professional glazing industry. CRH will pay US$1.3 billion for the company, including deferred consideration at a net present cost of US$86 million (payable over 5 years). The transaction, which will be financed using existing financial resources, is expected to close in early September 2015.
CRL designs, engineers and manufacturers a wide range of innovative and high-value components required to complete the field installation of architectural glass in both commercial and residential applications. The company has over 1600 employees and is based out of Los Angeles, but has 42 locations serving the US and Canada, as well as Western Europe and Australia.
The acquisition complements CRH’s BuildingEnvelope® business, which is a leading supplier of fully integrated building envelope products (architectural glass, aluminium glazing systems) in North America. The company is part of CRH’s Americas Products division and has 48 locations in North America and approximately 4500 employees.
Forecast CRL sales for 2015 are c. US$570 million, on which EBITDA of c. US$115 million is expected. This excludes annual synergies of US$40 million that are expected to be generated by 2017 from the combination with BuildingEnvelope®.
Adapted from press release by Katherine Guenioui