CALHOUN, Ga. — April 3, 2013 — Mohawk Industries, Inc. today announced that it has completed the
acquisition of the Marazzi Group for approximately $1.5 billion with a combination of cash and
equity giving Mohawk the leading position in worldwide ceramic tile. The Marazzi Group is a global
leader in ceramic tile with worldwide brand recognition and 2012 revenues of about €858 million.
Marazzi operates manufacturing facilities in Russia, the United States and Western Europe and sells
to more than 100 countries around the world. Marazzi manufactures all types of tile including
glazed ceramic, glazed porcelain, technical tile and color body porcelain.
In commenting on the closing, Jeffrey S. Lorberbaum, Mohawk’s Chairman and CEO, stated, “The
Marazzi acquisition continues the expansion of Mohawk’s global business and will make us an even
stronger company. Marazzi’s innovative products, leading-edge designs, efficient
manufacturing and excellent service have created one of the industry’s most valuable brands. With
the combination, we have many opportunities to improve our ceramic performance by leveraging best
practices, operational expertise, product innovation and manufacturing assets across the
enterprise.”
Marazzi holds the number one position in the Russian ceramic market through a unique model
that optimizes its total supply chain from manufacturing to distribution to retail. In the U.S.,
the combined manufacturing expertise, design capabilities and distribution systems of Marazzi and
Mohawk will satisfy all residential and commercial requirements. In Europe, Marazzi has maintained
its innovation and design leadership throughout the cycle and improved efficiency aligning its
capacity to the market. Additional investments are planned to further grow sales, enhance
design capabilities and improve efficiency.
Lorberbaum said, “The addition of Marazzi will allow us to expand our U.S. distribution,
source ceramic tile from our worldwide base, and provide industry leading innovation and design to
all of our global ceramic customers. With our solid financial position, manufacturing and
distribution expertise, and international participation in all flooring categories, Mohawk is
positioned for long term growth to maximize shareholder value.”
Certain of the statements in the immediately preceding paragraphs, particularly anticipating
future performance, business prospects, growth and operating strategies and similar matters and
those that include the words “could,” “should,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” and
“estimates,” or similar expressions constitute “forward-looking statements.” For those statements,
Mohawk claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There can be no assurance that the
forward-looking statements will be accurate because they are based on many assumptions, which
involve risks and uncertainties. The following important factors could cause future results to
differ: changes in economic or industry conditions; competition; inflation in raw material prices
and other input costs; energy costs and supply; timing and level of capital expenditures; timing
and implementation of price increases for the Company’s products; impairment charges; integration
of acquisitions; international operations; introduction of new products; rationalization of
operations; tax, product and other claims; litigation; and other risks identified in Mohawk’s SEC
reports and public announcements.
Posted April 9, 2013
Source: Mohawk Industries
