It is also negotiating exclusively to buy Wolseley’s French subsidiary Brossette.
Build Center has a network of 148 branches located across the UK and is seen by Saint-Gobain as offering a an excellent geographic fit with its Jewson network.
Build Center reported revenue of £316 million for the fiscal year ended 31 July with 1,500 employees. The £145m acquisition includes 86 real estate locations.
Saint-Gobain and Wolseley have entered exclusive negotiations for the €186m (£163.7m) acquisition of Brossette, which specialises in distribution of plumbing, heating and sanitary products in France. Brossette has a network of 361 outlets across the country and is seen as offering a strong geographic fit with Saint-Gobain’s French plumbing, heating and sanitary business, which primarily operates under the Cedeo brand. Brossette generated €714 million in revenue in the fiscal year ended July 31, 2010 and employs 2,650 people.
Saint-Gobain chairman and CEO Pierre-André de Chalendar said: “These two acquisitions, which will add more than €1 billion of sales, are perfectly in line with the strategy of Saint-Gobain. They will further develop our building distribution sector and complement the geographical presence in two of the sector's key businesses - general building distribution in the UK and plumbing, heating and sanitary products in France - while creating significant synergies, particularly in the areas of purchasing and logistics.”
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