T&B to Buy Lamson & Sessions, Build Non-Metallic Products Business

Thomas & Betts Corp. (T&B), Memphis, Tenn., agreed to acquire Lamson & Sessions in a cash transaction valued at $27 per share or approximately $450 million.

If the acquisition is approved, Lamson & Sessions' products would become part of T&B's electrical division and would give the company a broader array of non-metallic boxes, fittings and enclosures, according to Tricia Bergeron, a T&B spokesperson. Lamson & Sessions' board has unanimously approved the agreement and will recommend that shareholders approve it. The transaction is expected to close in late 2007.

“Lamson & Sessions is a well-known, leading North American supplier of non-metallic electrical boxes, fittings, flexible conduit and industrial PVC pipe,” said Dominic Pileggi, T&B's chairman and CEO. “The company enjoys a well-deserved reputation for delivering high-quality products and best-in-class customer service. Its Carlon brand and trademarked Blue Box are the most recognized non-metallic electrical outlet boxes in the industry.”

Lamson & Sessions, which reported net sales of $561.3 million in 2006, manufactures thermoplastic enclosures, fittings, wiring outlet boxes and conduit for the electrical, telecommunications, power and wastewater markets. The company has three business units, the best-known in the electrical market being Carlon, which many electrical contractors and do-it-yourself consumers call “the blue box company.” The company's products include wiring device boxes, floor boxes, flexible conduit for electrical, thermoplastic enclosures for industrial and OEM applications, large junction boxes for outdoor lighting installations, and non-metallic wiring trough. Carlon's corrugated nonmetallic tubing (nicknamed “Smurf tube”) for voice-data-video applications has also become quite popular.

Thomas & Betts, with 2006 revenues of $1.9 billion, manufactures electrical components used in the construction, industrial and utility markets. The company is also a leading producer of commercial heating and ventilation units and engineered steel structures used primarily for utility transmission.