American Standard sold to an investment firm

Jul 27, 2007

27/07/07 - The American private investment firm Bain Capital Partners has acquired the Bath & Kitchen business of American Standard, the world's largest ceramic sanitaryware manufacturer, in a sale first announced at the beginning of the year.

The two parties have signed the definitive agreement to transfer all the business's activities (26,000 employees and 54 production facilities in 23 countries worldwide) to the new owner by the beginning of the fourth quarter for $1.755 billion in cash.

The Bath & Kitchen business has annual sales of $2.4 billion and closed the second quarter of the year with a 6.4% increase in sales compared to the same period in 2006, reaching $660.5 million.

Bain Capital Partners is one of the largest investment funds in the world with approximately $50 billion in assets under management. It has completed acquisitions of other important international brands such as Burger King and Samsonite. Headquartered in Boston, Bain Capital has offices in New York, London, Munich, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.