Ferguson PLC Disposal of Wolseley UK (3806K)
04 Enero 2021 - 01:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMFERG
RNS Number : 3806K
Ferguson PLC
04 January 2021
January 4, 2021
FERGUSON PLC
Disposal of Wolseley UK
Ferguson plc today announces that it has entered into an
agreement to sell Wolseley UK, its UK based heating and plumbing
distribution business, to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, a global
private investment firm for net cash consideration of approximately
GBP308 million (c. $420 million) (the "Disposal").
In the year ended July 31, 2020 Wolseley UK generated revenue of
$1,879 million and underlying trading profit of $8 million on a
pre-IFRS 16 basis. Gross assets at July 31, 2020 were $1,093
million. Following completion of the Disposal, future
responsibility for the UK defined benefit pension scheme will be
retained within the Ferguson plc Group. At July 31, 2020 the net
pension liability was $27 million on an IAS 19 basis. The Wolseley
UK business being disposed will retain no ongoing liabilities in
relation to the UK defined benefit pension scheme. Excluding the
net pension liability, the net operating assets of Wolseley UK at
July 31, 2020 were $378 million.
We expect the transaction will complete at the end of January
2021. Following completion of the Disposal, the Company will update
shareholders on the use of the proceeds of sale. The Board's
current intention is to make a return of substantially all of the
net cash proceeds of sale to shareholders by way of a special
dividend.
Rothschild & Co is acting as financial advisor to Ferguson
plc in relation to the Disposal.
Kevin Murphy, Chief Executive of Ferguson, commented:
"Wolseley is a leading heating and plumbing distribution
business in the UK and we are confident the business will benefit
from working with its new owners, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice who
will develop the business further by focusing on continued
opportunities in the industry. We'd like to thank all our
associates for their tireless hard work while they have been part
of the Group, especially recently through the COVID-19 pandemic. We
wish them all the very best for the future.
"The transaction further simplifies the Group and allows us to
focus entirely on investing in and developing our business across
North America where we have the greatest opportunities for
profitable growth."
For further information please contact
Ferguson plc
Bill Brundage, Group Chief Financial
Officer Tel: +1 757 223 6092
Mark Fearon, Director of Corporate Communications
and IR Mobile: +44 (0) 7711 875070
Media Enquiries
Mike Ward, Head of Corporate Communications Mobile: +44 (0) 7894 417060
Nina Coad, David Litterick (Brunswick) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959
About Ferguson
Ferguson plc is a leading value added distributor of plumbing
and heating products to professional contractors principally
operating in North America. Ongoing revenue for the year ended July
31, 2020 was $19.9 billion and ongoing underlying trading profit
was $1.6 billion. Ferguson plc is listed on the London Stock
Exchange (LSE: FERG) and is in the FTSE 100 index of listed
companies. For more information, please visit www.fergusonplc.com
or follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/Ferguson_plc .
About Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
Founded in 1978, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is a private
investment firm with a strategy predicated on building stronger,
more profitable businesses. Since inception, CD&R has managed
the investment of more than $30 billion in 95 companies with an
aggregate transaction value of more than $150 billion. The Firm has
offices in New York and London. CD&R has been investing in
Europe for more than 20 years, acquiring 19 businesses representing
more than $6 billion of capital. For more information, visit
www.cdr-inc.com.
-ends-
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
DISVXLFBFFLLBBE
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 04, 2021 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
Ferguson (LSE:FERG)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Feb 2024 a Mar 2024
Ferguson (LSE:FERG)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Mar 2023 a Mar 2024