FRANKFURT: German sanitary fittings maker Grohe said Thursday that Japanese housing and building materials company Lixil has agreed to take it over in a deal valuing the German group at 3.06 billion euros or $4.1 billion.
Grohe "has entered into an agreement with Lixil and Development Bank of Japan in relation to the sale of an 87.5-percent equity interest in Grohe.
This transaction represents the largest ever German investment by a Japanese company," the German group said in a statement.
Grohe said its current owners US investment fund TPG and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, part of Swiss bank Credit Suisse would sell their stakes to a company jointly owned by Lixil and DBJ.
"The implied enterprise value, including the assumption of debt, is 3.06 billion euros. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory and antitrust approvals and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014," the statement said. (AFP)
