Flush with cash

26 September 2013 By Olaf Storbeck, Una Galani Follow @ugalani

Japan’s building materials firm is buying the bathroom fittings specialist from private equity for 3 bln euros. Grohe is a fast-growing and profitable brand. On its own, the deal would have been way too big for Lixil. It became possible thanks to help from Japan’s taxpayers.

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Japan’s Lixil Group and the Development Bank of Japan have agreed to buy 87.5 percent of Germany’s Grohe. The Sept. 26 deal values the bathroom equipment maker at 3.06 billion euros ($4.1 billion).
Sellers TPG Capital and the private equity arm of Credit Suisse bought Grohe in 2004 for 1.5 billion euros from BC Partners. In 2011, Grohe bought control of China’s Joyou. Joyou’s founders, the Cai family, holds the remaining 12.5 percent stake in Grohe.
Lixil and DBJ will acquire Grohe through a jointly owned entity in which they both own a 50 percent voting interest. Lixil bought U.S. toilet and plumbing fixtures maker ASD Americas Holding for $542 million in June.

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