DALLAS - The Jones-Blair Co. announced an agreement to sell the majority of the company's operating assets to a newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary of Professional Paint Inc. for an undisclosed purchase price. The companies said completion of the transaction is expected by April.

Dallas-based Jones-Blair, with annual sales of more than $70 million, sells paint and coatings products at 27 company-owned service centers in Texas and in the Chattanooga, TN, area. The company, founded in 1928, manufactures a range of architectural and industrial coatings and the Neogard brand of elastomeric waterproofing, roof, floor, and deck coatings.

Professional Paint, headquartered in Denver, is the parent company of six other regional paint manufacturers: Kwal-Howells Paint, Denver; Frazee Paint, San Diego; Parker Paint, Tacoma, WA; Hanley Paint, El Paso, TX; Sophir-Morris Paint, Omaha; and General Paint, Vancouver, British Columbia. The company's annual revenues are more than $360 million.

Kent Child, president and CEO of Professional Paint, said the acquisition of Jones-Blair reflects the company's strategy to "build a stable of regional brands." He said Professional Paint plans to operate Jones-Blair "as a free-standing company and to keep their manufacturing and distribution network intact, staffed with Jones-Blair personnel."

Professional Paint currently operates five stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area under the Stellar Paint brand, and plans to merge those stores with Jones-Blair's retail operations. "In addition, we think this transaction will generate other opportunities for growth in key southwest markets," Child said.

Including the Jones-Blair acquisition, Professional Paint will operate approximately 275 retail outlets in the western United States and Canada.