Dublin hardware distributor McLoughlin & Sons has acquired a smaller distribution business in a deal that will lift the company's turnover to €30 million.
The Finglas-based firm did not disclose a price for its purchase of RS Sales Ltd, but industry precedents suggest it could have been in the region of €5 million.
Dundrum-based RS Sales, owned by its management team, had turnover of €12.5 million in 2004, according to Companies Office filings. In the same year, it had pretax profits of €569,854.
McLoughlin & Sons will be renamed McLoughlin RS upon completion of the deal. The new company will be based in Finglas and will employ more than 100 people.
McLoughlin & Sons was established in 1958 by Michael McLoughlin, the father of current owners, Pádraig and Kieran.
The company has grown by 15 per cent per annum over the past few years. In 2005, it invested €10 million in a new corporate headquarters in Finglas.
A further €200,000 was spent earlier this year on warehouse and field sales management systems.
Pádraig McLoughlin, chief executive of the company, said its next target would be to pass the €40 million sales threshold.
RS Sales was set up in 1972 and acquired by its management team - Jim Coffey, David Hughes, Robert Massey and Alan Keegan - in 2003. All four managers will now join McLoughlin RS.
The RS business distributes brands including Durabond, Plasplugs, DeVille and Harris to the construction, hardware and DIY sectors.
