Cameron Ashley Completes Acquisition of Washington Roofing Products Company.

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 1998--Cameron Ashley Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:CAB) announced today that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of all of the outstanding stock of Ibex Industries, Inc. d/b/a Washington Roofing Products Co. Washington Roofing Products Co., a wholesale distributor of commercial and residential roofing, vinyl building products, kitchen cabinets and door and window systems, has seven locations that principally service the greater Washington, D.C. area including northern Virginia and southern Maryland. The acquired company will add an estimated $36 million in sales to Cameron Ashley on a full-year basis. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Ronald R. Ross, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cameron Ashley Building Products, Inc., commented: "The acquisition of Washington Roofing fills in our geographic presence in the middle Atlantic states by extending Cameron Ashley's commercial and residential product selection to locations where we previously did not offer distribution. The acquisition will also strengthen our position with suppliers by complementing our overall product mix and creating cross-selling opportunities."

Mr. Ross continued: "Washington Roofing Products has been serving the Washington Metro area for over 60 years and has established an excellent reputation with suppliers and customers. We have been impressed with the quality of their people and operations. The current management team and staff will remain in place and will add depth and knowledge of their markets to our Company. We are pleased to welcome the employees of Washington Roofing to Cameron Ashley."

Cameron Ashley building Products, Inc. is a distributor of a broad line of building products that are used principally in home improvement, remodeling and repair work and in new residential construction. The Company distributes its products to independent building material dealers, professional builders, large contractors and mass merchandisers through a network of 171 branches located throughout the United States and Canada. Product lines include roofing, millwork, pool and patio enclosure materials, insulation, siding, steel products, industrial metals and a variety of other building materials.

Safe harbor for forward-looking statements: Except for historical information contained herein, certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be indicated by phrases such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "foresees", "projects", "predicts", "forecasts" or similar words and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. Among the factors that could cause results to differ materially are the following: (i) business and economic conditions in North America, (ii) business and economic conditions in the regional markets in which the Company operates, (iii) adverse homebuilding conditions including those related to weather and interest rates, (iv) the ability to make acquisitions at reasonable prices and achieve synergies upon integration, (v) reliable and cost-effective supply of products from manufactures, and (vi) technology risks in integrating information systems. Certain of these risks are more fully described in the Company's 10-Q and 10-K filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Copies of the Company's 10-K and 10-Qs are available from the SEC or may be obtained upon request from the Company. The Company does not undertake any obligations to update the information contained herein, which speaks only as this date.