Comfort Systems to Acquire Remaining Interest in Environmental Air Systems

In November 2011, Comfort Systems acquired 60 percent of EAS with an option to acquire the remainder

HOUSTON — Comfort Systems USA Inc., a leading provider of commercial, industrial, and institutional HVAC services, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the remaining 40 percent noncontrolling interest in Environmental Air Systems (EAS), headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, effective Jan. 1, 2016.

In November 2011, Comfort Systems USA acquired 60 percent of EAS with an option to acquire the remainder of EAS beginning in late 2016. Since that transaction, EAS has been a majority-owned subsidiary and has been accounted for on a consolidated basis. This agreement will result in Comfort Systems USA acquiring the remaining interest of EAS.

Brian Lane, Comfort Systems USA’s chief executive officer, said, “We are extremely happy to announce that our long-term commitment to and partnership with EAS will soon be complete. EAS has been a strong contributor to our ongoing improvement due to its great execution and willingness to support its sister operations. With this transaction complete, we believe EAS can make an even more important contribution to all of Comfort Systems.”

The transaction is expected to be accretive to Comfort Systems USA’s earnings in 2016. EAS was the company’s most profitable subsidiary in 2015. EAS’s 2016 earnings are also expected to be very strong, although not as exceptional as its 2015 earnings. However, despite the expected lower profit contribution in 2016 from EAS, the result of the transaction will allow Comfort Systems USA to see a flat to slightly higher earnings per share contribution from this division as a result of eliminating the minority position.

As required under applicable accounting standards, since the original acquisition, EAS has been fully consolidated with Comfort Systems USA’s financial results. As a result, this transaction will not affect the presentation of revenues, EBITDA, or other financial metrics for Comfort Systems USA that are above the elimination of noncontrolling interest numbers in the financial statements. EAS is currently the only entity in which the company reports a noncontrolling interest for financial statement purposes.

Comfort Systems USA has 88 locations providing HVAC services in 83 cities around the nation. For more information, visit www.comfortsystemsusa.com.

Publication date: 12/23/2015

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