The Saarland-based porcelain group Villeroy & Boch is taking over the bathroom equipment manufacturer Ideal Standard.

The manufacturer of bathroom fittings and ceramics is valued at around 600 million euros, Villeroy & Boch announced on Monday. With the acquisition, the largest in the company's history, the family-owned group from Mettlach would increase its turnover by more than three quarters to more than 1.6 billion euros. The takeover of Ideal Standard is to be financed with 250 million euros in new debt, among other things. Both companies complement each other regionally, in sales and in the product portfolio. "This forms the basis for a stronger competitive position and additional growth," explained Villeroy & Boch. This will make the company one of the strongest-selling bathroom product manufacturers in Europe.

Although Villeroy & Boch is primarily known for its coffee services, it generates two thirds of its sales with washbasins and toilets. Villeroy & Boch is worth a good 250 million euros on the stock exchange. In early trading, the preference shares rose by 8.3 percent.

The company had shelved its first attempt to take over Ideal Standard two and a half years ago. There had been concerns in parts of the major shareholder family, the activist investor Lakestreet Capital had described Ideal Standard as a restructuring case and warned against the acquisition.

The Brussels-based company was owned by financial investor Bain Capital until 2018, but got into financial difficulties due to the high level of debt it had saddled Ideal Standard with. Creditors Anchorage and CVC Credit Partners then converted their bonds into equity and have held the reins at Ideal Standard ever since. Villeroy & Boch declared that the company would be significantly deleveraged as part of the takeover.

Ideal Standard employs more than 7,000 people at eleven production sites in Europe and the Middle East. Last year, they generated sales of 737 million euros and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 74 million euros. Villeroy & Boch itself achieved sales of 995 million euros and an operating result (EBIT) of 97 million euros in 2022, but expects sales to fall to between 935 and 965 million euros and EBIT of between 87 and 92 million euros in the current year due to the weak construction industry.

(Report by Alexander Hübner, edited by Ralf Banser. If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)