Mohawk Industries Acquires Panel Board Manufacturer

Mohawk Industries Inc. has announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Spano Invest NV (“Spano”), a Belgian panel board manufacturer, for $168 million in cash. Spano’s 2012 revenues are estimated at approximately $231 million. The business is expected to be slightly accretive in the first full year. This transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2013 and is subject to customary governmental approvals and closing conditions.

Spano manufactures and distributes chip and melamine board, which are used to produce furniture and building products primarily in the Belgian market. Spano became a leader in the chipboard industry in 1977 when it introduced the first continuous press operations, significantly increasing its production capacity. Today, Spano operates facilities in Belgium and has an electricity plant joint venture that converts waste wood into green energy.

In commenting on the acquisition, Jeffrey S. Lorberbaum, Mohawk’s chairman and CEO, stated, “The combination of Unilin and Spano will create significant synergies to bring greater value to our customers and broaden our product offering. Spano expands not only our customer base with a focus on different channels of distribution, but also our knowledge and technical expertise, which we can leverage. Together, there are many opportunities to optimize manufacturing assets, raw materials, and production efficiencies. We look forward to bringing Spano’s talented team into the Unilin family.”