The €23.8 million acquisition of Cork Builders Providers (CBP) by Heiton looks like a very nice deal - and not just for the CBP directors and Goodbody private clients who pocketed Heiton's money
It also looks like a very good deal for Heiton, with analysts upping their current year earnings forecasts by almost 7 per cent to reflect the contribution from CBP. That expected rise in earnings has been matched by the rise in the Heiton share price from €3.00 to €3.25 since the takeover was announced.
Heiton boss Leo Martin said quite correctly that the Cork acquisition fills a gap in its operations - both segmentally and geographically - and broadens Heiton's base into the infrastructural materials market in the south of the country.
One other person who must be pleased with the Heiton acquisition is Grafton's Michael Chadwick, as the addition of CBP makes Heiton an even more attractive morsel if Grafton ever decides to convert its Heiton stakebuilding into a formal takeover bid.
Grafton itself has no builders merchanting business in the Cork city area, although its Chadwicks subsidiary does have outlets in Midleton and Mallow. Grafton's only presence in the Cork city area is one Woodies DIY outlet and two plumbers merchant outlets.
In contrast, Heiton, with its €28 million heavy merchanting subsidiary, now has a very strong presence in the infrastructural market in the region.
