Rexel reinforces the U.S.
Rexel set sail for America. The French group announced Wednesday the acquisition of Platt Electric Supply, family owned distributor of electrical products based in Beaverton, Oregon.
When most companies focus on international emerging markets, Rexel, which is one of the first groups of distribution of electrical products in the world with a turnover of 12.7 billion euros in 2011, a presence in 37 countries and 28,000 employees, is growing into a mature country. Mature, but growing: last year, the activity of the distributor posted 8.3% growth for the North American region, which is above the group average of 5.3%. As emphasized by analysts at CM-CIC Securities, "in the portfolio of Rexel, North America is the geographical area the more focused, both in terms of sales growth as improved profitability."
Now the distributor has lost market share in recent years. Last April, Oddo Securities and stressed that "the group, by the closure of many branches in non-profitable, went for about two years of a market share of 8% to 6% today." Analysts felt that even Rexel now occupied the second rank in the U.S., behind Sonepar. They called again to an acquisition.
This is now done. Platt Electric Supply is present in seven states of the American West. The company reported last year $ 409 million in revenue (about 310 million euros) savings account payday advance. "With this transaction, Rexel will exceed 10% market share in the western U.S., where growth is greatest," said a spokesman for Rexel.
To gain this market share, the French group paid a heavy price, "about 300 million euros," said a statement from the company. "The multiple of turnover in 2011 seems a priori quite high, at nearly 1 times, but the price is probably justified by the financial performance of the company and its growth prospects," note analysts at CM-CIC Securities.
690 million of additional sales
External growth is part of Rexel's strategy. The movement seems to have accelerated in recent months. "The group has now made nine acquisitions since the beginning of the year for a total amount that we estimate close to 500 million euros and an additional turnover of 690 million euros," says Oddo Securities. Last year, Rexel had bought 10 companies for an additional revenue of "only" 209 million euros.
Three quarters of this comes from emerging countries, proof that the distributor is not as mature areas. With a successful trial for the time being insufficient for the observers. "Rexel is not an optimal profile as its exposure to emerging markets remain close to 7% of turnover," says Oddo Securities.
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