Freshfields steers Wolseley through €1.5bn DT purchase

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Wolseley on its €1.5bn (£1.03bn) acquisition of Nordic distribution business DT Group from private equity group CVC Capital Partners.

Freshfields corporate partner Stephen Hewes led the advice to Wolseley, the world's largest plumbing group. Copenhagen-based firm Bech-Brunn advised vendor CVC, led by corporate partner Mikkel Lerche.

Hewes advised on an acquisition structure that saw Wolseley pay CVC E1.5bn in cash and take on DT Group's net debt of €484m (£331.05m).

The acquisition of DT Group is conditional upon regulatory approval, which is expected to take up to two months. Hewes said there were no hitches to the deal completing.

The acquisition marks Wolseley's first move into the Nordic market and will be financed using debt through Wolseley's existing facility.

DT Group distributes building materials with operations in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. It has 8,000 employees and had a revenue of E2.5bn (£1.71bn) for the year ending 30 June 2006.

Wolseley chief executive Charles Banks said: "This acquisition gives us a major presence in the Nordic region for the first time and significantly broadens our European reach."