Acorn becomes newest member of the Comfort Systems USA Team
Last Updated on Tuesday, 09 February 2010 20:51 Written by Administrator Monday, 18 January 2010 02:34
Raleigh mechanical construction company, Acorn Industrial, has been acquired by Comfort Systems USA Inc., a publicly traded company based in Houston. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Acorn Industrial will keep its name, as well as all of its executives and employees and become a subsidiary of Comfort Systems (NYSE:FIX), says Acorn President and CEO Wesley D. Carter.
“This will bring Acorn a lot of financial stability and backing,” Carter says. “And they want us to keep doing what we’re doing.”Acorn specializes in complex piping projects such as plumbing, boiler and chiller systems for big projects at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University. Acorn was a contractor for the NetApp data center project in Research Triangle Park.
Founded in 1997, most of Acorn’s work is Triangle-based. In 2008, Acorn Industrial’s billings were $22 million, which was enough to rank it at No. 9 among the largest specialty contractors in the Triangle, according to Triangle Business Journal research.
Acorn has a core staff of about 50 people, which can swell to 150 with contract workers at specific job sites.
Houston-based Comfort Systems USA provides commercial and industrial heating, ventilation and air conditioning system services and has more than 76 locations in 72 cities nationwide.
In addition to Acorn Industrial’s acquisition on Dec. 31, Comfort Systems USA acquired Dillingham & Smith Mechanical and Sheet Metal Contractors LLC of Nashville, Tenn., as well as adding smaller operations to existing Comfort Systems companies in Kentucky, Montana and upstate New York, according to a company statement.
Combined, the companies acquired reported revenue in 2009 of about $45 million at profitability levels that are equivalent to other subsidiaries.
For the quarter that ended Sept. 30, Comfort Systems reported revenue from continuing operations of $291.6 million, compared to $346.75 million in the third quarter of 2008. Net income for the quarter was $9.54 million, or 25 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $13.8 million, or 34 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2008.
http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2010/01/04/daily41.html?ed=2010-01-07&ana=e_du_pap