BTR sells US electrical wholesaler for dollars 120m

BTR, the giant industrial conglomerate, is selling its Summers electrical wholesaler in the US as part of a programme of retrenchment to its core manufacturing businesses.

Willcox and Gibbs, the US wholesale distributor, will pay a maximum of dollars 120m (pounds 81.33m) for the Dallas-based company, which has 80 branches and 1,100 employees.

Summers made profits of dollars 6m after tax in 1992 on sales of dollars 395m. Its net assets amount to dollars 66m.

BTR has made no secret of its desire to dispose of some businesses, but some City analysts said the group appeared to be gearing up for a substantial acquisition.

'BTR doesn't need the money, so why sell assets at a price that amounts to only 14 times 1992 earnings when interest rates are low?' said Geoff Allum of NatWest Markets. 'I suspect BTR is going to do something big - possibly in glass or packaging,' he said.

But Alan Jackson, BTR's chief executive, said: 'It complements our recent divestment of the Newey and Eyre electrical distribution business in the UK and our intention to float the Graham's builders' merchants business in 1994.'