United States. Distributor Watsco recently announced that it has completed the acquisition of Acme Refrigeration, a distributor of air conditioning, heating and refrigeration products based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Founded in 1945, Acme offers approximately 7,000 SKUs to more than 4,000 active customers in 18 locations in Louisiana and Mississippi and is led by third- and fourth-generation members of its founding family. Acme generated revenue of $60 million in 2020. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Albert H. Nahmad, President and Chief Executive Officer of Watsco, commented, "We welcome Acme Refrigeration, its leaders and employees to the Watsco family of companies. Acme has long been an admired company in its markets with a loyal audience. In accordance with our acquisition and construction strategy, Acme will operate under its current name and under the direction of its current leadership team to provide continuity to customers, employees and OEM partners. We look forward to providing the resources, capital and technology needed to help them achieve their growth plans."
Watsco has acquired 64 companies since 1989, most of which were successful family businesses of several generations. The acquisition of Acme is the second purchase this year. On April 12, 2021, Watsco announced the purchase of Temperature Equipment Corporation, a $291 million distribution company with 32 locations covering the U.S. Midwest. Watsco's "buy and build" strategy can be summarized as follows:
• Identify and partner with large companies focused on the HVAC/R industry
• Support their leadership team and honor the culture and legacy they have created.
• Solicit aggressive growth plans and help leaders achieve their ambitions.
• Motivate teams and reaffirm a culture of ownership with long-term equity
• Implement the industry's most comprehensive set of customer-centric technologies
• Solicit and collaborate on great ideas to foster a spirit of innovation and growth.
• Build a stronger Watsco thanks to our partnership with these companies.
Watsco says it is actively pursuing additional opportunities to invest and grow through acquisitions given its relatively low market share of the North American distribution market estimated at $40 billion for HVAC/R products.
