Watsco Inc. has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the HVAC business of Peirce-Phelps Inc. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to occur within the next 30 days. Peirce-Phelps will operate as a separate business of Carrier Enterprise LLC, a joint venture between Watsco and Carrier Corp. Watsco owns 80 percent of Carrier Enterprise and Carrier owns 20 percent.

Peirce-Phelps was founded in Philadelphia in 1926 and is one of the largest HVAC distributors in North America with current annual sales of approximately $206 million. It currently serves more than 9,000 customers from 19 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Its product offering includes residential and commercial HVAC equipment made by Carrier as well as parts, supplies and accessories sourced from approximately 350 vendors.

“Peirce-Phelps has one of the most long-standing family legacies in our industry as evidenced by the four third-generation Peirce brothers who operate the business," said Albert H. Nahmad, Watsco’s chairman and CEO. "They will continue to lead the company moving forward in what will be a new market for our company. We look forward to helping the Peirce-Phelps team with capital, ideas, technology and our relationships to build on its historical success. We are pleased to become part of the Peirce-Phelps family.”

Brian Peirce, Peirce-Phelps’s president and CEO, said, “Peirce-Phelps is excited to become a member of the Watsco family of businesses, adding our capabilities and customer focus to the largest HVAC distributor in North America. Peirce-Phelps’s 93-year legacy of serving the needs of customers in the Mid-Atlantic market will strengthen Watsco’s presence in the Northeast. We are looking forward to implementing their outstanding suite of technology platforms to help our customers continue to succeed in the market.”