MONTREAL - Richelieu Hardware Ltd. has acquired a New Jersey distribution centre that provides specialty and decorative hardware to woodworking customers and furniture manufacturers in all 50 U.S. states.

With the acquisition of Outwater Hardware in Lincoln Park, N.J., the Montreal-based company now has 23 distribution centres in the United States.
The purchase price wasn't disclosed when the deal was announced on Tuesday.

For Richelieu, the acquisition of Outwater represents additional sales of more than $15 million annually and an immediate contribution to its earnings, the company said in a news release.

Outwater Hardware serves a base of some 18,000 residential and commercial woodworking customers and kitchen, bathroom cabinet and furniture manufacturers across the United States.

At the end of last year, Richelieu had announced it had also signed new agreements for two other upcoming acquisitions.

With seven acquisitions closed since the beginning of 2010 and the transactions underway, Richelieu said it expects to increase its sales by some $100 million annually.

Richelieu is a leading North American distributor, importer and manufacturer of specialty hardware and complementary products.

Its products are targeted to an extensive customer base of kitchen and bathroom cabinet, furniture, and window and door manufacturers plus the residential and commercial woodworking industry, as well as a large customer base of hardware retailers, including renovation superstores.

SOURCE: Richelieu Hardware Ltd.