Acquisition

9 Months Ended

Oct. 01, 2011

Acquisition [Abstract]

Acquisition

Note 12 – Acquisitions

On December 28, 2010, the Company purchased certain assets of Tube Forming, L.P. (TFI).  TFI primarily serves the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning market in North America.  The acquired assets include inventories, production equipment as well as factory leaseholds.  TFI has operations in Carrollton, Texas, and Guadalupe, Mexico, where it produces precision copper return bends and crossovers, and custom-made tube components and brazed assemblies, including manifolds and headers.  TFI's estimated net sales for 2010 were approximately $35 million.  Mueller paid approximately $6.9 million for the assets, which was funded with existing cash on hand.  The acquisition of TFI expands the Company’s product offering within the OEM segment.

On August 6, 2010, the Company purchased certain assets from Linesets, Inc., a manufacturer of assembled line sets with operations in Phoenix, Arizona, and Atlanta, Georgia.  This acquisition expands the Company’s current line sets business, a part of the Plumbing & Refrigeration segment.  The purchase price of approximately $2.1 million was allocated primarily to inventory and machinery and equipment.

The acquisitions were accounted for using the purchase method of accounting.  Therefore, the results of operations of the acquired businesses were included in the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements since the date of acquisition.