pcJ News Briefs – CanWel Building Materials Group Ltd. (TSX: CWX) has agreed to acquire Honsador Building Products group of companies from Grey Mountain Partners for US $80 million or CDN $100 million.
Grey Mountain Partners acquired Honsador in December 2014.
To fund the acquisition, CanWel has entered into a bought deal with a syndicate of underwriters led by GMP Securities L.P. for a private placement of 8,550,000 subscription receipts at $5.85 per subscription receipt for gross proceeds of approximately CDN $50.0 million.
News Release
CANWEL ANNOUNCES $100 MILLION ACQUISITION OF LEADING HAWAIIAN BUILDING PRODUCTS COMPANY AND CONCURRENT $50 MILLION BOUGHT DEAL EQUITY FINANCING
THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
VANCOUVER, CANADA – September 5, 2017 – CanWel Building Materials Group Ltd. (“CanWel” or the “Company”) (TSX:CWX) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Colorado-based Grey Mountain Partners whereby CanWel will acquire 100% of the Honsador Building Products group of companies1 (“Honsador”) for US$80.0 million (approximately C$100 million) in cash, subject to customary post-closing adjustments (the “Transaction”).
Founded in 1935, Honsador is a leading distributor of building products and electrical supplies and the largest producer of pressure-treated wood in Hawaii, with 14 facilities across the Big Island, Maui, Oahu and Kauai serving the residential, commercial and military markets. The Transaction will result in Honsador becoming an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of CanWel and will combine Honsador’s operations with CanWel’s well-established and growing North American platform.
Transaction Highlights
• Diversified and Complementary Operations. The Transaction facilitates further penetration of the U.S. West Coast markets and provides entry into a robust and captive market with high barriers to entry. CanWel immediately obtains a market leadership position with a diversified and loyal customer base.
• Continued Wood Treatment Expansion. Post-closing, CanWel would become the largest pressure-treated lumber producer in Hawaii with approximately 150 million board feet of annual capacity, adding to the Company’s existing base of pressure-treated plants.
• Financially Attractive. The acquisition of Honsador effectively doubles CanWel’s sales in the United States2 while increasing CanWel’s pro forma EBITDA3 by approximately 25%. The Transaction is expected to be positively accretive to CanWel’s annual earnings and free cash flow4 per share by approximately 10-15% (prior to synergies) and lead to further expansion of CanWel’s EBITDA margins.
• Synergy Potential. Synergies are expected from integration with CanWel’s existing California business given the close proximity to shipping ports. Additional operational and margin synergies are
• Skilled Operational Leadership Team. Honsador includes a committed and strong management team that shares mutual best practices on a well-run platform. Key management will remain in place and bring 50+ years of combined industry experience, further adding to CanWel’s bench strength.
“We are very excited with the addition of Honsador to the CanWel family. The Transaction is a great complement to our existing U.S. operations while further advancing our growth strategy and developing a leadership position on the west coast of the U.S.” said Amar Doman, Chairman and CEO of CanWel. “We continue our disciplined approach in tracking and executing on accretive growth opportunities, further strengthening our financial performance, and enhancing shareholder value based on a fundamentally sound and sustainable growth plan.”
“I am also pleased to announce that The Futura Corporation, CanWel’s largest shareholder, will be subscribing for $5.0 million under the Offering, details of which follow below” Mr. Doman added.
Honsador is being acquired on a cash-free and debt-free basis, and includes the assumption of approximately US$26 million of net working capital. The Transaction is being funded through a combination of the Offering (as described below) and CanWel’s existing revolving credit facilities, resulting in CanWel maintaining a constant leverage profile. Closing is subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions and is anticipated early in the fourth quarter of 2017.
The Company is also pleased to announce that it has reached agreement to amend its existing $325 million senior credit facility with Wells Fargo Capital Finance Corporation Canada by amending the revolving credit limit to $300 million and the accordion acquisition credit limit to $25 million from $275 million and $50 million respectively, effective concurrent with the closing of the Transaction.
Bought Deal Private Placement
In conjunction with the Transaction, CanWel has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by GMP Securities L.P. (the “Underwriters”), pursuant to which the Underwriters have agreed to purchase, on a “bought deal” private placement basis, 8,550,000 subscription receipts (the “Subscription Receipts”) of CanWel at a price of $5.85 per Subscription Receipt (the “Offering Price”) for gross proceeds of approximately $50.0 million (the “Offering”).
CanWel has also granted the Underwriters an option, exercisable up to two business days prior to the Offering closing date, to arrange for the purchase of up to an additional 1,282,500 Subscription Receipts at the Offering Price for additional gross proceeds of up to $7.5 million.
The net proceeds from the Offering will be used to partially finance the Transaction consideration.
Each Subscription Receipt will entitle the holder to receive, without further consideration or action, one common share of CanWel (a “Common Share”) upon satisfaction of certain escrow release conditions to be included in a subscription receipt agreement, including the satisfaction of all conditions precedent (but for the payment of the purchase price) of the Transaction, provided that the conditions have been satisfied by December 31, 2017. The Offering is expected to close on or about September 26, 2017 and is subject to the completion of formal documentation and certain other conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals including the approval of the TSX. If the proposed Transaction is not completed on or before December 31, 2017 or the proposed Transaction is terminated at an earlier time, holders of Subscription Receipts will receive a cash payment equal to the offering price of the Subscription Receipts and any interest that was earned thereon during the term of the escrow.
CanWel currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share and CanWel currently intends to maintain its current dividend policy, implying an annualized dividend yield of 9.6% at the Offering Price. The first dividend that holders of the Common Shares will be entitled to receive, should they continue to hold the Common Shares, is the dividend expected to be paid on or about January 15, 2018 to holders of record on December 29, 2017. For greater certainty, holders of Subscription Receipts will not be entitled to receive any dividends paid on the Common Shares prior to the exercise of the Subscription Receipts or closing of the Transaction.
The Subscription Receipts will be sold in Canada on a private placement basis pursuant to “accredited investor” exemptions under National Instrument 45-106. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
Advisors and Counsel
GMP Securities L.P. acted as financial advisor to CanWel and a team of Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Carlsmith Ball LLP and Goodmans LLP acted as its legal advisors.
About CanWel
Founded in 1989, CanWel is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CWX and is Canada’s only fully integrated national distributor in the building materials and related products sector. CanWel operates multiple treating plant and planing facilities in Canada and the United States, and operates distribution centres coast-to-coast in all major cities and strategic locations across Canada and near San Francisco and Los Angeles, California. CanWel distributes a wide range of building materials, lumber and renovation products. In addition, through its CanWel Fibre division, CanWel operates a vertically integrated forest products company based in Western Canada, operating from British Columbia to Saskatchewan, also servicing the US Pacific Northwest. CanWel owns approximately 136,000 acres of private timberlands, strategic Crown licenses and tenures, log harvesting and trucking operations, several post and pole peeling facilities and two pressure-treated specialty wood production plants and a specialty saw mill.
For further information regarding CanWel please contact:
Ali Mahdavi
Investor Relations
416-962-3300
ali.mahdavi@canwel.com