Service center Reliance wary of M&As, at least through mid-2010

Oct 23, 2009 | 06:54 AM | Corinna Petry

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., reiterating its stance throughout 2009, said it isn't looking to add to the portfolio of companies that have made it an $8.7-billion enterprise over the past decade, at least not in the immediate future.

Although "we stand on good footing to take advantage of opportunities," with a low debt-to-capital ratio, plenty of borrowing capacity on existing credit lines and a relatively healthy balance sheet in an unhealthy environment, "there is nothing we want right now," David H. Hannah, chairman and chief executive officer of the service center chain, said Thursday during the company's earnings conference call.

"There are mostly distressed companies out there (and) we don't want to acquire them. We think opportunities will be slim until there is some real demand improvement. Sometime in the second half of next year we expect some merger-and-acquisition opportunities to present themselves."....