National Oilwell Varco Inc. in Houston, TX, is exploring a spin-off of its distribution business, creating two standalone, publicly traded corporations. Industrial PVF distributor Wilson, which makes up a large part of the distribution business, has already changed hands twice in the past three years.
In May of 2012, NOV paid Schlumberger Ltd. nearly $800 million for Wilson International Inc. The acquisition, according to some reports, had the potential to double NOV's distribution footprint. Schlumberger had acquired Wilson as part of the acquisition of Smith International in 2010.
Pete Miller, National Oilwell Varco's CEO, said following last year’s acquisitions of Wilson and its Canadian counterpart C.E. Franklin, the company’s distribution business now has the market size and scale to operate as a standalone distribution company. As a separate company, Miller said, the distribution group would have over 415 locations and operations in 26 countries.
The spin-off is expected to be completed in the first half of 2014.
Here are other deals that occurred in September 2013:
Swedish manufacturer SKF has agreed to acquire Kaydon Corp., Ann Arbor, MI, for $1.25 billion. Kaydon is an industrial manufacturer with three distinct business areas: friction control products (bearings), velocity control products and specialty products. SKF reported that the deal shows the manufacturer’s commitment to the North American market; 62 percent of Kaydon’s $425 million in sales are in North America.
Illinois-based Crescent Electric Supply Co., ranked No. 10 on MDM's 2013 list of top electrical distributors, agreed to acquire Boise, ID-based Interstate Electric Supply, which serves residential and commercial contractors and industrial OEM and MRO customers from six stocking branches in Idaho and Oregon.
ERIKS continues to grow its reach with the acquisition of Scotland-based G&H Engineering Services Ltd. The acquisition fits with the strategy of ERIKS UK to further develop its offering in the flow technology market and to grow in the manufacture and supply of critical gasket components.
Phoenix, AZ-based Southwest Fastener agreed to acquire The Bolt Company of New Mexico in Albuquerque, according to Industrial Supply.
United Natural Foods Inc., Providence, RI, agreed to acquire Minnesota-based natural foods distributor Trudeau Foods LLC from Trudeau Holdings LLC, a portfolio company of Arbor Investments II LP. Trudeau will become a subsidiary of United Natural Foods.
Technology distributor Ingram Micro(NYSE: IM), Santa Ana, CA, has acquired Toronto-based SoftCom, a cloud marketplace and global service provider.
Read more about consolidation trends in distribution in the 2013 Distribution Trends Report.
