Sale of Ace Canada

The American Ace Hardware group has sold its Canadian operation to competitor Sodisco Howden for $ 15 mio plus receivables to the extent of $ 6 mio. Sodisco Howden will continue to use the Ace name and will be able to take advantage of all the Ace programmes and services, which are also available to the licensees in the other 56 countries.
According to a statement made by Jos Wintermans, president and CEO of the Sodisco Howden Group, it was unavoidable that one of the companies would take over the other, since the Canadian hardware market cannot support two players. Ace occupied a strong position in Canada, with DIY stores in Ontario and the Winnipeg-based Sexton Group.