MADRID--(BUSINESS WIRE)--H.I.G. Capital, a leading global private equity investment firm with over €35 billion of equity capital under management, and the Royo family have entered into an agreement to sell the bathroom furniture division of RG International Bathroom to Roca Sanitario, S.A. The Royo family will retain a minority stake in the division. Both H.I.G. and the Royo family will continue as shareholders of the shower tray business of RGIB, operating under the Fiora brand.
H.I.G. partnered with the Royo family in December 2016 and has achieved a number of important milestones, including:
- Developing a new factory and brand in Poland (Maximus) that contributed to strengthening the leading position that RGIB already had in the Polish market under the Elita brand
- Entering new segments, channels and countries; one of the most relevant achievements was the entry into the DIY channel in Germany where RGIB is now a leading player
- Consolidating RGIB’s leading position in Spain and France, where the group has grown its distribution network to more than 5,000 points of sale
- Launching Amizuva, an exclusive brand that targets the online channel
- Increasing RGIB´s revenues by over 50%
The Royo family and H.I.G. will retain ownership of Fiora and will continue to strengthen the Company's innovation, design and product development capabilities in order to consolidate Flora’s leading position in the European premium shower trays segment. The shareholders will also focus on further expanding Fiora’s international footprint beyond the 30 countries where it is currently present through its widespread distribution network and its customer service team.
Raul Royo, CEO of RGIB, stated: "We would like to thank H.I.G. for their support over the past four years, which has allowed us to strengthen our leading position in Europe. The agreement with Roca, a global leader in the bathroom sector, will help us enhance our state-of-the-art business, with almost 150 years of combined experience in the sector between the two families.”
Jaime Bergel, Managing Director of H.I.G. Spain commented: “We are very pleased with the success of this investment, which proves our capabilities in the Spanish market. Together with the Royo family, we have positioned RGIB as one of the leading companies in the bathroom sector in Europe, and we will continue supporting Fiora to consolidate its leadership in the European market.”
The deal is subject to approval by antitrust authorities in some European markets.
About RGIB
RG International Bathroom, founded more than 45 years ago by Pascual Royo, is one of Europe's leading manufacturers of bathroom products, mainly focused on furniture and resin shower trays. The group has factories in Valencia, Nájera and Poland and operates on five continents under the brands Royo, Elita, Maximus and Fiora. RGIB has an annual turnover of more than €110 million and employs more than 1,000 professionals.
About Roca Group
Roca Sanitario is dedicated to the design, production and marketing of bathroom products, as well as ceramic floor and wall tiles for architecture, construction and interior design. The family-owned Spanish group is the market leader in Europe, Latin America, India and Russia. It also has a strong presence in China and the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Africa. It is the international leader in the field.
About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with over €35 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Bogotá, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach:
| 1. | H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses. |
| 2. | H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. is also a leading CLO manager, through its WhiteHorse family of vehicles, and manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance. |
| 3. | H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices. |
Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 300 companies worldwide. The firm's current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of €27 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.
