- Agrees to Acquire Walker Engineering family of companies in Texas -
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2019--
Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE: FIX), a leading provider of
mechanical services, including heating, ventilation, air conditioning,
plumbing, piping and controls, today announced that it has entered into
a definitive agreement to acquire Walker TX Holding Company, Inc. and
its related subsidiaries (“Walker”) headquartered in Irving, Texas.
Walker is a family-owned company that provides commercial electrical,
network, end-user, industrial and related services in Texas. Walker has
offices and operations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Houston, San
Antonio and Austin and has helped to build many of the largest and most
complex projects in the State of Texas. Initially, Walker is expected to
contribute annualized revenue of approximately $325 million to $375
million, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization of $20 million to $25 million. In light of the required
amortization expense related to intangibles and other costs associated
with the transaction, the acquisition is expected to make a neutral to
slightly accretive contribution to earnings per share during the first
18 to 24 months after the acquisition. The transaction is expected to
close early in the second quarter of 2019 and is subject to customary
closing conditions.
Brian Lane, Comfort Systems USA’s Chief Executive Officer, commented,
“We are extremely happy to announce that Walker and its extraordinary
team of professionals will be joining Comfort Systems USA. Walker has a
30+ year history of delivering top-notch electrical contracting and
related services and has an outstanding reputation across all of the
major markets of Texas in the mission critical, hospitality, healthcare
and industrial sectors.”
Scott Walker, Chief Executive Officer of Walker, commented, “My team
chose to join Comfort Systems USA from among many strong options because
we believe that Comfort is fully committed to its employees, starting at
the field level, and that this partnership is the best way to provide
additional opportunities and growth for all of our employees. We feel
confident that Walker and Comfort Systems USA have a bright future
together.”
Brian Lane concluded, “Walker brings best-in-class electrical expertise
and a stellar reputation to Comfort Systems USA. Given the strong
leadership at all levels of the company, we believe that Walker will
continue to grow and improve. We could not be happier that the Walker
team is joining Comfort Systems USA, and we believe that they will
provide us with a strong base for continued growth and investment in the
electrical contracting business that will complement and strengthen our
existing mechanical, plumbing, controls, fire suppression and electrical
lines of business across the United States.”
Comfort Systems USA® is a premier provider of business
solutions addressing workplace comfort, with 128 locations in 114 cities
around the nation. For more information, visit the Company’s website atwww.comfortsystemsusa.com.
D.A. Davidson & Co. served as financial advisor and Foley Gardere served
as legal counsel to Walker. Robinson Bradshaw served as legal counsel to
Comfort Systems USA.
Certain statements and information in this press release may
constitute forward-looking statements regarding our future business
expectations, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “believe,”
“expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “intend,” “foresee,” “should,” “would,”
“could,” or other similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements, which are generally not historic in nature.
These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations
and beliefs of Comfort Systems USA, Inc. and its subsidiaries
(collectively, the “Company”) concerning future developments and their
effect on the Company. While the Company’s management believes that
these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, there
can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will
be those that it anticipates. All comments concerning the Company’s
expectations for future revenue and operating results are based on the
Company’s forecasts for its existing operations and do not include the
potential impact of any future acquisitions. The Company’s
forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties
(some of which are beyond the Company’s control) and assumptions that
could cause actual future results to differ materially from the
Company’s historical experience and its present expectations or
projections. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are
not limited to: the use of incorrect estimates for bidding a fixed-price
contract; undertaking contractual commitments that exceed the Company’s
labor resources; failing to perform contractual obligations efficiently
enough to maintain profitability; national or regional weakness in
construction activity and economic conditions; financial difficulties
affecting projects, vendors, customers, or subcontractors; the Company’s
backlog failing to translate into actual revenue or profits; failure of
third party subcontractors and suppliers to complete work as anticipated;difficulty in obtaining or increased costs associated with bonding
and insurance; impairment to goodwill; errors in the Company’s
percentage-of-completion method of accounting; the result of competition
in the Company’s markets; the Company’s decentralized management
structure; material failure to comply with varying state and local laws,
regulations or requirements; debarment from bidding on or performing
government contracts; shortages of labor and specialty building
materials; retention of key management; seasonal fluctuations in the
demand for mechanical systems; the imposition of past and future
liability from environmental, safety, and health regulations including
the inherent risk associated with self-insurance; adverse litigation
results; an increase in our effective tax rate; an information
technology failure or cyber security breach; and other risks detailed in
our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For additional information regarding known material factors that
could cause the Company’s results to differ from its projected results,
please see its filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on
Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on
Form 8-K.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company
undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements after the date they are made, whether as a
result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190221005978/en/
Source: Comfort Systems USA, Inc.
William George
Chief Financial Officer
(713) 830-9600