Beijer Ref AB (publ) acquires Heritage Distribution Holdings
Beijer Ref AB (“Beijer Ref”) has signed an agreement to acquire Heritage Distribution Holdings (Heritage Distribution”). Beijer Ref will acquire Heritage Distribution for a purchase price in cash of USD 1,275 million on a cash and debt free basis.
The acquisition will initially be financed through a bridge facility provided by Handelsbanken and Nordea, and subsequently through a rights issue of class B shares amounting to approximately SEK 14 billion with preferential rights for existing shareholders in Beijer Ref. App. 2% of the acquired company will continue to be held by current management. The completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to occur early in Q1 2023.
Heritage Distribution is a leading distribution company for Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (“HVACR”) equipment, parts and supplies in North America and the acquisition provides a new North American platform for Beijer Ref, which includes businesses with longstanding track-records and an experienced management team that will continue to drive consolidation in the highly fragmented North American market.
Beijer Ref is a technology-oriented trading group listed on the NASDAQ and which, through added-value products, offers its customers competitive solutions within refrigeration and climate control. Beijer Ref is one of the largest refrigeration wholesalers in the world, and is represented in 42 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania. The acquisition will be Beijer Ref’s entry into the North American market and will establish the company as a leading HVACR distributor in the U.S. South/South East region, one of the most attractive regions for HVACR in North America.
Beijer Ref is advised by Mannheimer Swartling in the transaction.