HVAC and refrigeration distributor Watsco Inc. announced today the acquisition of Southern Ice Equipment Distributors and named two other distributors it had purchased earlier in the year.
Watsco identified the companies purchased earlier as:
- Lashley & Associates, a Houston-based distributor of commercial supplies and custom air movement products, which Watsco acquired in January, and
- Hawkins HVAC Distributors, a distributor of HVAC equipment and supplies with locations in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Columbia, South Carolina, which was purchased in April.
Southern Ice distributes food-service and commercial refrigeration equipment, parts and supplies, including products manufactured by Manitowoc Ice, a division of Pentair plc. Southern ice operates in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
Watsco says the three deals add 10 locations and about $47 million in annual sales “in high-growth Sunbelt markets that provide new brands, broader product offerings and expanded distribution points to better serve customers.”
Watsco, originally a manufacturer of HVAC components, parts and tools, refocused on distribution in 1989. Since then it has made 72 acquisitions, many of them family-owned businesses, and the Miami-based company says it is seeking to buy more companies. Watsco operates 702 locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Watsco reported last month $1.03 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2025, a 2% decline compared to $1.14 billion the prior year, largely due to a 10% decrease in HVAC equipment sales, which make up two-thirds of its business. Net income was $94.5 million, a decline of 9.3% from $104.3 million in the first quarter of 2024.
Watsco’s stock market value of $19.06 billion places it No. 13 in market cap in the Distribution Strategy Group Public Distributor Index. Watsco’s stock price has increased about 1.6% since the first of the year, ahead of the Public Distributor Index average of 0.8%.
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Don Davis, former editor-in-chief of Internet Retailer magazine and Vertical Web Media, is a freelance writer based in Chicago. His experience in retail and distribution goes back to his childhood when he worked in the toy wholesale business founded by his father and two uncles and in their discount department stores located throughout the New York metropolitan area.