MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. Announces Completion of Acquisition of J & L Industrial Supply
Melville, NY, June 8, 2006 - MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC. (NYSE: MSM), "MSC or the Company" one of the premier distributors of MRO supplies to industrial customers throughout the United States, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of J & L America, Inc. DBA as J & L Industrial Supply (J & L), a subsidiary of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) (Kennametal), for $349.5 million.
MSC financed a portion of the purchase price for J & L from the proceeds of a new credit facility, which was closed simultaneously with the acquisition. The new credit facility includes a $205 million term loan, which was drawn in entirety to provide the funding for the acquisition; and a $75 million revolver, which will be used for working capital purposes. As previously announced, the acquisition is not expected to have a material impact on MSC's fiscal 2006 results, and is expected to be neutral to the Company's earnings per share through most of fiscal 2007, becoming accretive towards the end of fiscal 2007. The acquisition is expected to be highly accretive to MSC's results in fiscal 2008 and beyond as synergies are realized.
David Sandler, President and Chief Executive Officer of MSC, commented, "The completion of the J & L acquisition provides great value to our shareholders and represents an exciting new chapter for our Company, our associates, our customers, our suppliers and our owners. The transaction not only expands our presence in the marketplace, but also significantly enhances our customer base, and broadens our product and service offerings. Working together with J&L, we will be able to leverage our combined relationships in the industry to capitalize on significant cross-selling opportunities, while generating considerable cost savings. Overall, we are pleased that we have finalized this process and are moving forward to integrate our businesses."
Headquartered in Southfield, Michigan with operations in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, J & L is a leading national specialty metalcutting and finishing distributor with fiscal year 2005 sales of $257.5 million (as reported by Kennametal). J & L provides its base of over 74,000 customers with an industry-leading offering of the top brands in metalworking. J & L services its customers through its 2,100-page catalog, its e-commerce portal and a sales force of approximately 140 associates.
MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE: MSM) is one of the premier distributors of MRO supplies to industrial customers throughout the United States. MSC distributes more than 500,000 industrial products from approximately 2,100 suppliers to approximately 342,000 customers. In-stock availability is approximately 99% and standard ground delivery is next day to 80% of the industrial United States. MSC reaches its customers through a combination of more than 28 million direct-mail catalogs, approximately 91 branch sales offices, approximately 500 sales people, the Internet and associations with some of the world's most prominent B2B e-commerce portals.
Contact:
Shelley Boxer, V.P. Finance
MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc.
(516) 812-1216
