Business
Sun Gro acquisition adds California production capacity
Sun Gro acquisition adds California production capacity.
About this update from Coloured Ties Capital Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nTrading Symbol: The Toronto Stock Exchange - GRO.UN\n\n\nVANCOUVER, Jan. 16 /CNW/ - Sun Gro Horticulture Income Fund (the \"Fund\")\ntoday announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Sun Gro Horticulture Canada\nLtd. (\"Sun Gro\" or the \"company\"), has purchased all of the outstanding\nownership shares of Sacramento, California horticultural growing mix and bark\nproducer, Sun-Up Horticulture. The $4.3 million purchase price includes\napproximately $0.6 million for product inventory on hand.\n\n\nThe transaction adds two peat-mixing plants and a bark processing plant\nto Sun Gro's North America-wide network of 17 production facilities. One of\nthe mixing plants is operational and the second is currently being fitted with\nnew production equipment. The acquired facilities will enhance the company's\nability to target greenhouse growers, ornamental nurseries, landscapers,\nvegetable transplant growers and retailers throughout California.\n\n\n\"The Sun-Up Horticulture acquisition opens the door for increased\nparticipation in the largest horticultural market in North America, which has\nlong been a goal for Sun Gro,\" said Mitch Weaver, President and CEO of Sun Gro\nand a Trustee of the Fund. \"The new plants are ideally situated to serve the\nmany ornamental and agricultural growers located in California and will allow\nus to increase our share of both the professional and retail growing mix\nmarkets.\"\n\n\nThe acquisition was funded through Sun Gro's existing acquisition line of\ncredit and is expected to be modestly accretive to the Fund's unitholders this\nyear. Further accretion is anticipated in 2008 as additional professional mix\nbusiness for the new plants is developed. In 2007, the acquisition is\nprojected to add approximately $11 million to the company's annual sales.\n\n\nIncome Fund Profile\n\n\nSun Gro Horticulture Income Fund was launched with the completion of an\nInitial Public Offering of 22,023,000 trust units on March 27, 2002. The Fund\nis dependent on Sun Gro's operations, with monthly distributions to its\nunitholders based entirely on Sun Gro's performance.\n\n\nCompany Profile\n\n\nSun Gro was founded in 1929 in Vancouver, BC and has grown to become\nNorth America's largest producer of sphagnum peat, and the largest distributor\nof peat moss and peat and bark-based growing media to professional...