Germany-based Grohe Group has acquired a majority stake in the WaterTech portfolio of Dawn to become the market leader in South Africa.

The new company to be named Grohe Dawn WaterTech Holdings will be owned 51 per cent by Grohe and 49 per cent by Dawn.

The brands include Cobra, which is coming home to the Grohe Group given both companies were founded by Friedrich Grohe. The transaction, announced today, is subject to regulatory approval as well as the approval by Dawn’s shareholders and is set for closing in autumn, a statement said.

With gross sales of around $148.46 million, Dawn’s sanitary fittings business segment grew by approximately 10 per cent in the last financial year. Dawn has a significant sanitary fittings market share in South Africa, which means that Grohe becomes one of the country’s leading suppliers of sanitary fittings as a result of the transaction.

The deal offers Grohe outstanding prospects for further sustained growth in the African market. Grohe gains production facilities in South Africa and will further expand its distribution network and business activities in neighbouring markets in the southern and eastern regions of the African continent, it said.

The partners of the new company agreed that this company will become the exclusive distributor for Grohe and Joyou products in South Africa and other selected markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

“For us, acquiring Dawn’s WaterTech business is another major step inspired by compelling industrial logic,” said David J Haines, CEO and chairman of the Grohe Group.  - TradeArabia News Service