Uni-Select Continues to Expand U.S. Presence

Uni-Select Inc. has announced that it intends to acquire the assets of two automotive aftermarket warehouse distributors located in the Seattle, Wash. area.
Letters of intent have been signed for these acquisitions, which will form the base of the new North-Western Division of Uni-Select USA. The interested parties are Mar-Lac Distributing Co., located in Auburn, Wash, and Piston Service Wholesalers located in Renton, Wash.
Mar-Lac, a member of the Parts Plus buying group, services several independent jobber stores from its warehouse in addition to operating 10 corporate stores. Piston Service Wholesalers also supplies independent jobber stores from its warehouse.
“We are pleased to have concluded these agreements with Mar-Lac and Piston Services who are known for the quality of their service and efficient operations. The business approach of each of these corporations is very similar to that of Uni-Select USA and should facilitate the integration of operations”, said Jacques Landreville, president and chief executive officer of Uni-Select Inc. He also said “The acquisitions will add approximately CDN $60 million to our revenues and provide the critical mass for Uni-Select USA, to profitably enter this new market while ensuring the type of return that our shareholders demand”.
Bruce McLachlin, president of Mar-Lac Distributing Co., who will manage the new Division for Uni-Select, added : “This transaction will allow us to maintain and improve our service level to our customers. I look forward to this relationship and to the opportunities that it creates for our business”.
Ron Berschauer of Piston Service Wholesalers commented : “We wanted to improve the extent of inventory that we were providing to our jobbers. This transaction with a warehouse distributor such as Uni-Select, known for its support of the independent jobber, provides the competitive advantage that we were looking for to expand the businesses of our membership.” Both transactions are expected to close on the first week of January 2003 and are subject to the completion of a due diligence review and the required statutory approval of the shareholders of Piston Service Wholesalers.