A London-based investment group, BC Partners, has acquired 100% of Friedrich Grohe AG’s voting stock in the largest leveraged buy-out in German history. According to company sources, Grohe is the world’s largest manufacturer of plumbing fittings, with an estimated global market share of over 10 percent. In 1998, Grohe employed 5,700 people worldwide. Grohe’s U.S. subsidiary is headquartered in the Chicago area.

“We are very pleased with this decision,” said Peter Körfer-Schün, Grohe’s chief executive officer. “BC Partners is a company with excellent financial resources that operates successfully on an international scale. This new structure will open growth opportunities for Grohe including new acquisitions potential of our own.”

According to Bob Atkins, president of Grohe America, "This announcement marks the beginning of a very exciting near- and long-term future for Grohe, particularly in the United States."