CHICAGO, June 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- Grainger (NYSE: GWW), the leading broad line supplier
of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products serving
businesses and institutions, today announced it has entered into a
definitive agreement to sell Fabory Group (Fabory) to Torqx Capital
Partners, a Dutch private equity company.
Grainger will continue offering broad line MRO products to
customers in Western Europe
through Cromwell and Zoro.
"I want to thank the Fabory team for their innovative and
customer-focused approach," said DG Macpherson, Chairman and CEO of
Grainger. "I'm confident the acquisition by Torqx will better
align with Fabory's growth objectives. At the same time,
Grainger remains focused on providing value to our customers,
executing our strategy and delivering profitable growth through our
high-touch and endless assortment offerings."
Harmen Geerts, Managing Partner
of Torqx, commented: "Based on our extensive experience and strong
track record with technical distribution businesses, we see a
strong fit between Fabory and Torqx. We can help the company
to strengthen its position as leading fastener specialist in its
core markets and achieve its full potential."
The transaction is not subject to any financing condition but is
subject to the standard regulatory approvals. This deal is
expected to close in the coming months.
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Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements about future strategic plans and future financial and
operating results. Important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements include, among others: the unknown duration and
economic, operational and financial impacts of the global outbreak
of the Coronavirus (COVID-19 pandemic) and the actions taken or
contemplated by governmental authorities or others in connection
with the pandemic on the company's businesses, its employees,
customers and suppliers, including the uncertain duration of
mandated shut-downs for our customers and suppliers, changes in our
customers' product needs, our suppliers' inability to meet
unprecedented demand for COVID-19 related products, the potential
for government action to allocate or direct products to certain
customers which may cause disruption in our relationships with
other customers, and disruption caused by business responses to
COVID-19, including working remote arrangements, which may create
increased vulnerability to cybersecurity incidents; higher product
costs or other expenses; a major loss of customers; loss or
disruption of sources of supply; increased competitive pricing
pressures; failure to develop or implement new technology
initiatives or business strategies; failure to adequately protect
intellectual property or successfully defend against infringement
claims; fluctuations or declines in the company's gross profit
percentage; the company's responses to market pressures; the
outcome of pending and future litigation or governmental or
regulatory proceedings, including with respect to wage and hour,
anti-bribery and corruption, environmental, advertising, consumer
protection, pricing (including disaster or emergency declaration
pricing statutes), product liability, safety or compliance, or
privacy and cybersecurity matters; investigations, inquiries,
audits and changes in laws and regulations; failure to comply with
laws, regulations and standards; government contract matters;
disruption of information technology or data security systems
involving us or third parties on which we depend; general industry,
economic, market or political conditions; general global economic
conditions including tariffs and trade issues and policies;
currency exchange rate fluctuations; market volatility, including
volatility or price declines of the company's common stock;
commodity price volatility; labor shortages; facilities disruptions
or shutdowns; higher fuel costs or disruptions in transportation
services; pandemic diseases or viral contagions; natural and other
catastrophes; unanticipated and/or extreme weather conditions; loss
of key members of management; our ability to operate, integrate and
leverage acquired businesses; changes in effective tax rates;
changes in credit ratings or outlook; the company's incurrence of
indebtedness and other factors which can be found in our filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most
recent periodic reports filed on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, which are
available on our Investor Relations website. Forward-looking
statements are given only as of the date of this communication and
we disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, except as required by law.
About Grainger
W.W. Grainger, Inc., with 2019 sales of
$11.5 billion, is North America's leading broad line supplier of
maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products, with operations
primarily in North America,
Japan and Europe.
About Torqx Capital Partners
Torqx Capital Partners is
a Benelux-based private equity company that invests in medium-sized
companies with significant value creation potential. Situations
include growth-, buy-and-build-, performance improvement-,
turnaround- and transformational investments across a range of
industries including manufacturing, distribution and services.
Torqx acquires majority positions based on a partnership with
co-shareholders and management teams, offering the companies smart
capital, network, expertise and talent to support implementation of
their plans and achieve their full potential. The Torqx team
consists of 12 highly experienced and skilled professionals who
look beyond spreadsheets and understand what it takes to build
businesses and increase momentum. Torqx currently invests out of a
€ 150 million fund backed by reputable international institutional
investors and the Torqx team itself. For more information please
visit www.torqxcapital.com
About Fabory
Fabory is a leading specialist supplier
of fasteners and fastener related products in the Benelux with a
pan-European presence. Fabory sources a broad assortment of high
quality and mission-critical fasteners from suppliers worldwide and
distributes to over 60,000 customers throughout Europe. Its client base ranks from blue chip
to SME across various end markets, including machine building,
electrical appliances, automotive and construction. With its broad
one-stop-shop offering of over 400,000 products, Fabory combines a
deep technical knowledge with smart inventory management solutions
and a high degree of availability to provide its customers with
efficient and convenient fastener related solutions. Fabory employs
c. 1,100 FTE. For more information please visit www.fabory.com.
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SOURCE W.W. Grainger, Inc.