|
|
Article: Distribution for sale: investors bet on distribution to pay big dividends.
- Article from:
- Industrial Distribution
- Article date:
- April 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
NEWTON, MASS. - Will the consolidation ever stop? Judging from the action we've seen over the last 12 months, probably not.
Since INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION published its Top 50 last June, four of those firms have been bought. That represents eight percent of our 1996 Top 50. Let's recap the action.
* Last January, Premier Industrial Corp., which was No. 8 in the 1996 Top 50, was purchased by Farnell Electronics PLC of Britain for a lofty $2.8 billion.
* In September, W.W. Grainger announced it was purchasing the Canadian industrial distribution business of Acklands Limited in a deal worth $251 million.
* The buying continued early this year ...