Not for distribution to U.S. newswire services or for dissemination in the United States
Winnipeg, Manitoba – December 8, 2009 – The Boyd Group Inc. (the “Boyd Group”) and Boyd Group Income Fund (TSX: BYD.UN) (the “Fund”) today announced the acquisition of Big Sky Autobody, a regional operator of four collision repair centers in the state of Arizona, as well as the opening of a new location in Georgia. The acquisition, which includes three centers in Tucson and one in Avondale, combined with the Georgia start-up, are expected to contribute approximately US$10 million in annualized revenue to the Boyd Group in fiscal 2010 and be immediately accretive to the Fund’s distributable cash on a per unit basis. Both the acquisition and the start-up will be funded primarily by a combination of supplier funding, capital leases on equipment and seller provided financing. All locations will be branded “Gerber Collision & Glass”, consistent with all of Boyd Group’s U.S. collision repair centers.
Including these five facilities, Gerber Collision & Glass now operates 11 centers in Arizona, seven in Georgia and 53 overall in the U.S.
“We are pleased to announce that the addition of these five Gerber Collision & Glass locations has increased the number of our U.S. repair centers by more than 10%,” said Terry Smith, CEO of the Boyd Group. “Our acquisition allows us to establish a strong market presence for the Gerber Collision & Glass brand in the Tucson market, while the Avondale location helps strengthen our existing presence in the western Phoenix suburban area. The acquired centers are modern facilities with skilled personnel and are a good fit with our existing network. The new start-up in Rome, Georgia is approximately 12,000 square feet in size and is well located to help serve consumers and insurance clients in the growing region of northwest Georgia.”
“The opening of these five new Gerber Collision & Glass centers is in line with our stated strategy of adding eight to 10 new locations to our network each year,” said Brock Bulbuck, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Boyd Group. “With the four new locations added earlier in the year, we now have added nine new locations during 2009. Through our expansion initiatives, we expect to grow the Fund’s distributable cash, strengthen our relationships with our insurance company customers and business suppliers, and continue to build our market presence.”
About The Boyd Group Inc.
The Boyd Group Inc. is the largest operator of collision repair centres in Canada and among the largest in North America. The company operates locations in the four western Canadian provinces under the trade name Boyd Autobody & Glass, as well as in seven U.S. states under the trade name Gerber Collision & Glass. The company also operates Gerber National Glass Services, an auto glass repair and replacement referral business with affiliated service providers throughout the United States. For more information on The Boyd Group Inc. or Boyd Group Income Fund, please visit our Web site at www.boydgroup.com.
About The Boyd Group Income Fund
The Boyd Group Income Fund is an unincorporated, open-ended mutual fund trust created for the purposes of acquiring and holding certain investments, including a majority interest in The Boyd Group Inc. and its subsidiaries.
For further information, please contact:
Brock Bulbuck
President & COO
Tel: (204) 895-1244
brock.bulbuck@boydgroup.com
Adriana Braczek or Bruce Wigle
Investor Relations
Tel: (416) 815-0700 or toll free 1-800-385-5451 (ext. 240 / 228)
abraczek@equicomgroup.com / bwigle@equicomgroup.com
Dan Dott
Chief Financial Officer
Tel: (204) 895-1244
dan.dott@boydgroup.com
Caution concerning forward-looking statements
Statements made in this press release, other than those concerning historical financial information, may be forward-looking and therefore subject to various risks and uncertainties. Some forward-looking statements may be identified by words like “may”, “will”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, or “continue” or the negative thereof or similar variations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements, as actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Factors that could cause results to vary include, but are not limited to: the economic downturn; loss of key customers; fluctuations in cash distributions; dependence on the Fund’s operating subsidiary to pay its interest obligations; loss of services of key senior management personnel; damage to the Company’s brand; variation in the number of insurance claims; margin pressure; management of credit and refinancing risks; responding to changes in the market environment; technology risks; the management of key supplier relationships; capital expenditures; competition from established competitors and new entrants in the businesses in which the Company operates; employee relations; the ability to complete acquisitions of collision repair facilities and other businesses and to integrate these acquisitions successfully; the ability to identify start-up locations and reach anticipated profitability levels; potential discovery of undisclosed liabilities associated with acquisitions; energy costs; weather conditions; operational and infrastructure risks including possible equipment failure and performance of information technology systems; fluctuations in operating results and seasonality; ability to expand into the United States; insurance coverage of sufficient scope to satisfy any liability claims; environmental risk; interest rate fluctuations and general economic conditions; quality of corporate governance; pending and proposed legislative or regulatory developments including the impact of changes in laws, regulations and the enforcement thereof; quality of internal control systems; fluctuations in foreign currencies; fluctuations in the cost of benefit plans; impact of government owned insurance; and the possible impacts from public health emergencies, international conflicts and other developments including those relating to terrorism; and the Fund’s success in anticipating and managing the foregoing risks.
We caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive and that when reviewing our forward-looking statements, investors and others should refer to the “Risk Factors” section of the Fund’s Annual Information Form, the “Risks and Uncertainties” and other sections of our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Operating Results and Financial Position and our other periodic filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. All forward-looking statements presented herein should be considered in conjunction with such filings.