June 20, 2011
Boyd Group Income Fund to Acquire U.S. Collision Repair Company with 28 Locations
Not for distribution to U.S. newswire services or for dissemination in the United States
- Boyd Group solidifies position as the largest multi-location collision repair operator in North America -
Winnipeg, Manitoba - June 20, 2011 - Boyd Group Income Fund (TSX: BYD.UN) (“the Fund” or “the Boyd Group”) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Cars Collision Center of Colorado, LLC and Cars Collision Center, LLC (together, “Cars”), which own a total of 28 collision repair centers in the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, and Colorado. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to the Fund’s earnings, cash flows, and distributable cash per unit.
“We are very pleased with the planned acquisition of Cars, as we continue to execute on our stated strategy of growing our business,” said Brock Bulbuck, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Boyd Group. “By our estimates, the acquisition will position Boyd as the largest multi-location collision operator in North America not only in terms of number of locations, but also in terms of annual sales. After completing this transaction, Boyd will have a total of 164 collision repair centers across 13 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. We expect to see substantial benefits from the transaction, including expanded critical mass and presence in one of our key markets, an expanded national footprint which translates into enhanced value to our U.S. insurance company clients, as well as additional synergies. We are confident that the similarities between the business models of Boyd and Cars, as well as each company’s vision for the future, will result in an excellent strategic fit. While we are continuing our growth strategy of adding eight to 13 new locations per year, this acquisition represents a unique and attractive opportunity to acquire another strategic multi-location repair business and achieve accelerated growth.”
The transaction, valued at approximately US$21 million, is expected to be completed by July 1, 2011, subject to certain closing conditions being fulfilled. Funding for the transaction will be through a combination of cash, U.S. bank debt, third-party financing, and a seller take-back note. The Fund will not be issuing any new equity to fund the transaction and, therefore, the transaction will not result in equity dilution to unitholders. BB&T Capital Markets served as financial advisor to the Boyd Group in the transaction.
Cars is a private company that operates 14 locations in Illinois, eight locations in northern Indiana, and six locations in Colorado. It generated sales of approximately US$65 million in the 12 months ended April 30, 2011. Subsequent to the acquisition, Boyd will have a total of 45 locations in the Chicagoland market, up from 23.
To view the Boyd Group’s expected North American coverage after the acquisition of Cars, please click this link: http://www.boydgroup.com/assets/docs/news/na_coverage_map.pdf
About The Boyd Group Inc.
The Boyd Group Inc. is the largest operator of collision repair centres in North America. The Company operates locations in the four Western Canadian provinces under the trade name Boyd Autobody & Glass, as well as in eleven U.S. states under the trade names Gerber Collision & Glass and True2Form. The Company also operates Gerber National Glass Services, an auto glass repair and replacement referral business with approximately 3,000 affiliated service providers throughout the United States. For more information on The Boyd Group Inc. or Boyd Group Income Fund, please visit our website 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. The Boyd Group Income Fund units trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol BYD.UN.
For further information, please contact:
Brock Bulbuck
President & CEO
Tel: (204) 895-1244
brock.bulbuck@boydgroup.com
Salvador Diaz
Investor Relations
Tel: (416) 815-0700 / 1-800-385-5451 (ext. 242)
sdiaz@equicomgroup.com
Dan Dott
VP & CFO
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.
Boyd Group Services Inc.
1745 Ellice Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3H 1A6
Email: info@boydgroup.com
Tel: 204-895-1244
Fax: 204-895-1283