GENUINE PARTS CO. $77 (New York symbol GPC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 154.9 million; Market cap: $11.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.genpt.com) has exercised its option to buy full control of privately held Exego Group, which sells auto parts through 290 stores in Australia and 92 in New Zealand.
Genuine Parts paid $150 million for 30% of Exego in January 2012. It will pay $800 million for the remaining 70% when the deal closes in April 2013.
This is a big purchase for Genuine Parts, which earned $648.0 million, or $4.14 a share, in 2012. However, Exego is profitable, and this purchase will cut the company’s reliance on North America, which accounts for nearly all of its sales.
Genuine Parts is a buy.