News 2004
Investor consortium acquires all shares in Grohe
BC Partners advised funds sell to Texas Pacific Group and CSFB Private Equity
Hemer/Germany. Hemer-based Grohe AG will be acquired by a consortium led by two financial investment companies. Texas Pacific Group ("TPG") and Credit Suisse First Boston Private Equity ("CSFB Private Equity") reached an agreement with funds advised by BC Partners ("BC Funds") on the purchase of the sanitary equipment manufacturer Grohe. 1
Grohe welcomed the decision in favour of the investor consortium. Peter Körfer-Schün, the company's CEO, said: "This solution maintains the independence of our company, which may still be taken public at a later stage. Our immediate objective now is to define the company's strategy for the coming years together with the consortium, and our joint efforts will focus on strengthening our profitability." Stephen Peel, Partner of TPG in London, confirmed this: "We believe Grohe is a superb company with great further growth potential." Colin Taylor, Managing Director CSFB Private Equity added: "We look forward to working with management and employees to further develop the business globally and continue the outstanding work that has been done so far." With the backing of the investor consortium, Grohe intends to continue its strategy of international expansion and investment, which has made the Water Technology company the world-leading brand name in sanitary products and systems.
About Grohe:
Grohe manufactures and sells a full range of sanitary products and systems for residential, public and commercial installations. Combining the highest standards of quality and functionality with trend-setting design solutions, Grohe is a European market leader and one of the top three international manufacturers in this sector. The past decade saw the company's sales more than double to EUR 898 million (2002). The export share stands at approx. 75%. Some 5,800 employees in more than 130 countries contribute to the worldwide success of the GROHE brand. The company has 21 sales subsidiaries, twelve representative offices and nine manufacturing sites worldwide. Friedrich Grohe AG was a publicly listed company before its acquisition by BC Funds.
About the investor consortium:
CSFB Private Equity, the global private equity arm of Credit Suisse First Boston's alternative capital division, is the largest private equity manager in the world, with more than 29 billion US-Dollars of capital commitments under management. CSFB Private Equity is comprised of investment funds that focus on leveraged buy-outs globally, mezzanine, real estate, venture capital investments as well as primary and secondary purchases of interests in private investment funds. CSFB Private Equity, which includes the family of DLJ Merchant Banking funds, also provides customized funds of fund services, designing private equity solutions for institutional and high net worth investors. CSFB Private Equity maintains offices in New York, London, Los Angeles, Menlo Park, Chicago, Houston, Buenos Aires and Tokyo. Recent European investments by CSFB Private Equity include Gala Group, Nycomed Pharma and Safilo Holdings. CSFB Private Equity has a strong track record of supporting its portfolio companies in their development strategies, both through organic growth as well as strategic acquisitions.
TPG, founded in 1993 and based in Fort Worth, San Francisco and London is a private investment partnership managing over 13 billion US-Dollars in assets. TPG seeks to invest in world-class franchises across a range of industries, including significant investments in healthcare companies (Oxford Health Plans, Quintiles Transnational), leading retailers (Petco, J.Crew, Debenhams - UK), branded consumer franchises (Burger King, Del Monte, Ducati), technology companies (ON Semiconductor, MEMC, Seagate), and airlines (Continental, America West).
BC Partners
BC Partners (www.bcpartners.com) is a leading pan-European private equity firm, operating through integrated teams based in Paris, Hamburg, London, Milan and Geneva. The BC European Capital VII funds have total commitments of €4.3bn, one of the largest buyout funds in Europe to date. Over 17 years the firm has developed a long track record of successfully acquiring and developing European businesses in partnership with management, investing in 56 acquisitions (of which 17 have been in France) with a combined enterprise value of €32bn.
1 The transaction is subject to anti-trust approvals.