ACQUISITIONS

3 Months Ended

Mar. 28, 2020

On May 13, 2019, the Company acquired the assets of Connect-It Wireless, Inc. ("Connect-It") for $6,034 in cash. Connect-It operates in Florida and is a manufacturer and distributor of wireless site components and safety products. In the purchase price allocation, goodwill of $3,299 and customer relationships of $828 were recorded and the remainder is net working capital. A portion of the goodwill is deductible for tax purposes. Connect-It is included in the ESS segment and was acquired to expand the Company's wireless component distribution network. The Company finalized the purchase price allocation in the fourth quarter of 2019.

On February 11, 2019, the Company acquired the outstanding shares of United Galvanizing ("United"), a provider of coatings services for $26,000 in cash. The agreed upon purchase price was $28,000, with $2,000 being contingent on seller representations and warranties that was settled in the first quarter of 2020 for $1,522. The acquisition of United, located in Houston, Texas further expands the Company's galvanizing footprint in North America and is reported in the Coatings segment. The fair values assigned were $12,374 for goodwill, $3,170 for customer relationships, trade name of $894, $10,987 for property, plant, and equipment, and the remainder is net working capital. Goodwill is not deductible for tax purposes and the customer relationship will be amortized over 10 years. The trade name has an indefinite life. The Company finalized the purchase price allocation in the fourth quarter of 2019.

On December 31, 2018, the Company acquired the assets of Larson Camouflage ("Larson"), an industry leading provider of architectural and camouflage concealment solutions for the wireless telecommunication market for $31,106 in cash. The agreed upon purchase price was $34,562, with 10% being held back for seller representations and warranties that was settled in the first quarter of 2020 for $3,481. Larson was acquired to grow our product offerings in the wireless communication market and is reported in the ESS segment. The fair values assigned were $16,223 for customer relationships, $15,346 for goodwill, $1,151 for property, plant, and equipment and the remainder is net working capital. Goodwill is deductible for tax purposes and the customer relationships will be amortized over 12 years. The purchase price allocation was finalized in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The proforma effect of these acquisitions on the thirteen weeks ended March 30, 2019 is as follows:


						Thirteen weeks ended March 30, 2019
Net sales						$694,558
Net earnings						36,342
Earnings per share-diluted						1.65

Acquisitions of Noncontrolling Interests

In February 2020, the Company acquired the remaining 49% of AgSense that it did not own for $44,284, which includes an estimated future payment of $2,500 subject to finalization of the buyout calculation that is expected to settle in the second quarter of 2020. In addition, the Company acquired 16% of the remaining 25% that it did not own of Convert Italia for a cash payment of $11,750. The purchase agreement also settled the escrow funds which the Company had paid at date of acquisition. In April 2019, the Company acquired the remaining 4.8% of Valmont SM that it did not own for $4,763. As these transactions were for the acquisition of all or part of the remaining shares of a consolidated subsidiary with no change in control, they were recorded within shareholders' equity and as a financing activity in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.