Building materials provider CRH plc has acquired fencing producer Barrette Outdoor Living Inc. from TorQuest Partners and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) for $1.9 billion.
Barrette Outdoor Living, North America’s primary provider of fencing, decking, and railing for residential complexes, has reached a deal with Dublin, Ireland-based CRH, a building materials provider. As one of the largest global building material businesses across North America, Europe, and Asia, CRH employs 71,000 people in 28 countries and is valued at around $31.6 billion.
This transaction follows the divestment of CRH’s Oldcastle Building Unit, which KPS Capital Partners bought out for $3.8 billion. In a press release, Albert Manifold, Chief Executive Officer of CRH, said he hopes that the Barrette acquisition will help extend their sustainable outdoor living additions through their Architectural Products segment, which includes masonry and concrete along with lawn and garden composites.
“Barrette is an excellent addition to CRH,” Manifold said. “Barrette demonstrates the continued execution of our integrated solutions strategy to create further value for our customers, our business, and our shareholders.”
TorQuest and CDPQ acquired Barrette for an undisclosed amount in 2020. Barrette, which was founded in 1975, reported profits of $79 million before taxes for the year ending on January 1, 2022. That same year, their gross assets were $1.2 billion.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022, and the price includes $1.85 billion in cash and $40 million in capitalized lease liabilities. Davy analyst Ross Harvey told Bloomberg Magazine that Barrette has a strong market position in patio, lawn, garden, and deck products and that CRH will gain an edge with the acquisition. He added that the deal demonstrated a very disciplined method of recycling capital. He also believes the stock will outperform its original projections in light of this acquisition.
