Boyd Group Expands in Florida by Acquiring Craftmaster Auto Body

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WINNIPEG, Jan. 5, 2015 /CNW/ - The Boyd Group, North America's largest multi-shop operator of collision repair centres in terms of number of locations, has added six new locations in Florida through the acquisition of a full-service auto collision repair service provider in the Melbourne area.

Boyd Group Income Fund (TSX: BYD.UN) ("the Fund," "Boyd" or "the Boyd Group") today announced a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boyd Group (U.S.) Inc., acquired the assets of Craftmaster Auto Body Group, Inc. ("Craftmaster") effective January 2, 2015. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to the Fund's earnings and cash flow. Craftmaster was established in 1981 and generated sales of approximately US$13.6 million for the trailing twelve months ended August 2014.

Just three years after entering the Florida market, Boyd has become the leading operator of auto body repair centres in the state. With the acquisition of the six Craftmaster shops, Boyd's Florida operations have grown to 50 locations, and all will operate under the trade name of Gerber Collision & Glass once Craftmaster has been rebranded. In total, Boyd will operate 323 collision repair locations across 17 states and five provinces.

"This is an exciting opportunity for Boyd, and for all collision repair customers in eastern Florida," said Brock Bulbuck, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Boyd Group. "Because of our scale, we can assure customers of the best possible service and the highest quality of repairs using the latest innovations in processes and technology. We know the people at Craftmaster aspire to those same goals, and we're thrilled to have them join our team."

He added that the transaction reflects Boyd's ongoing commitment to continuing its prudent expansion program, including the acquisition of multi-shop operations that are accretive to the business. "This is our expectation with Craftmaster through its multiple locations and track record of high-quality work." 

"Our locations are very proud to be joining the Boyd team," said Craftmaster's President Mark Klenck. "This will allow them to better serve customers into the future by being part of a much larger team with locations across much of the country."

The total purchase price consideration of approximately US$7.4 million, subject to post closing adjustments, will be funded through a combination of seller financing and cash. This purchase price reflects a valuation multiple that is within the range of other recent multi-location acquisitions completed by Boyd.

About The Boyd Group Income Fund

The Boyd Group Income Fund is an unincorporated, open-ended mutual fund trust created for the purposes of acquiring and holding certain investments, including a majority interest in The Boyd Group Inc. and its subsidiaries. The Boyd Group Income Fund units trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol BYD.UN.  For more information on The Boyd Group Inc. or Boyd Group Income Fund, please visit our website at http://www.boydgroup.com

About The Boyd Group Inc.

The Boyd Group Inc. (the "Company"), directly and through subsidiaries, is the largest operator of non-franchised collision repair centres in North America in terms of number of locations and one of the largest in terms of sales. The Company operates locations in five Canadian provinces under the trade name Boyd Autobody & Glass (http://www.boydautobody.com), as well as in 17 U.S. states under the trade names Gerber Collision & Glass (http://www.gerbercollision.com), Collision Revision, Champ's Collision Centers and Craftmaster Auto Body. The Company is also a major retail auto glass operator in the U.S. with locations across 28 U.S. states under the trade names Gerber Collision & Glass, Glass America, Auto Glass Services, Auto Glass Only, Auto Glass Authority and S&L Glass.  The Company also operates two third party administrators that offer first notice of loss, glass and related services. Gerber National Glass Services is an auto glass repair and replacement referral business with approximately 3,000 affiliated service providers throughout the U.S. under the "Gerber National Glass Services" name and "Netcost Claims Services" which in addition to its referral business, also owns and operates its own call centre and offers roadside assistance services. For more information on The Boyd Group Inc. or Boyd Group Income Fund, please visit our website at (http://www.boydgroup.com).

Caution concerning forward-looking statements
Statements made in this press release, other than those concerning historical financial information, may be forward-looking and therefore subject to various risks and uncertainties. Some forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "may", "will", "forecast", "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "intend", or "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements in this press release include the accretive nature of the Acquisition to the Fund's earnings and cash flows.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements, as actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Factors that could cause results to vary include, but are not limited to: dependence upon The Boyd Group Inc. and its Subsidiaries; cash distributions not guaranteed; inability to successfully integrate acquisitions; economic downturn; operational performance; rapid growth; loss of key customers; brand management and reputation; insurance risk; quality of corporate governance; tax position risk; risk of litigation; acquisition risk; credit & refinancing risks; dependence on key personnel; employee relations; decline in number of insurance claims; market environment change; reliance on technology; weather conditions; expansion into new markets; fluctuations in operating results and seasonality; increased government regulation and tax risk; Canadian tax related risk; execution on new strategies; operating hazards; energy costs; U.S. health care costs and workers compensation claims; low capture rates; key supplier relationships; capital expenditures; competition; potential undisclosed liabilities associated with acquisitions; foreign currency risk; margin pressure; acquisition and start-up growth and ongoing access to capital; environmental, health and safety risk; interest rates; unitholder liability limitation and the Fund's success in anticipating and managing the foregoing risks.

We caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive and that when reviewing our forward-looking statements, investors and others should refer to the "Risk Factors" section of the Fund's Annual Information Form, the "Risks and Uncertainties" and other sections of our Management's Discussion and Analysis of Operating Results and Financial Position and our other periodic filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. All forward-looking statements presented herein should be considered in conjunction with such filings.

SOURCE Boyd Group Income Fund

Brock Bulbuck, President & CEO, Tel: [phone], [email protected]; Craig MacPhail, Investor Relations, Tel: [phone] or toll free 1-800-385-5451 (ext. 290), [email protected]; Dan Dott, VP & CFO, Tel: [phone], [email protected]