The owner of the Plumb Center and Builder's Centre chains needs to raise cash as it battles to pay off almost £2.5bn.
The firm intends to raise the funds through a series of rights issues and share placing following the news that pre-tax profits dropped by almost two-thirds to £97m in the six months to 31 January from the previous year.
Wolseley is also to put expansion plans on the backburner and will focus on the North America market where many former competitors have failed giving them a larger share of the market.
It also intends to build operations here, in Scandinavia and France.