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EIC completes $45M acquisition of Window Installation Specialists

Exchange Income Corporation headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, closed an acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Window Installation Specialists Inc. for US$45 million ($60.1 million in Canadian funds), which remains subject to customary post-closing adjustments. With its primary interests in aviation and aerospace, EIC describes itself as a diversified acquisition-oriented company with a second focus on manufacturing.

Window Installation Specialists (WIS), a privately owned company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, specializes in sales, consultation, field-testing, installation and service of pre-glazed fenestration (window) products. This includes a focus on the industry sectors of multi-family residential, garden style apartments, mid-rise, high-rise, new construction and rehabilitation.

Founded in 1998, WIS holds an operational focus in the United States west coast, specifically Seattle, Washington; Southern California (Los Angeles and San Diego); and the Bay area (Oakland, San Jose, San Francisco). WIS counts one of EIC’s subsidiaries, Quest Window Systems Inc., as a key supplier based on its usage of glazer over the last decade. Together, WIS and Quest provide services under supply and install contracts.

The purchase price of US$45 million was funded by issuance of EIC common shares to the vendor of US$7 million and the corporation’s available cash resources from a credit facility of US$38 million. EIC explains WIS has expanded over the past three years and, at the time of purchase close, had a backlog of more than times its revenues from last year.

“The acquisition of WIS represents a significant strategic investment further vertically integrating Quest’s operations,” said Mike Pyle, CEO of EIC. “Combined with the acquisition of AWI, we now have considerable breadth of distribution and installation expertise across the U.S. market, similar to Canada.”