Global Flooring Leader to Acquire Largest Flooring
Manufacturer in Australia and
New Zealand
CALHOUN, Georgia, Nov. 20, 2017 /CNW/ -- Mohawk
Industries, Inc. (NYSE: MHK) today announced that the Company
has agreed to acquire Godfrey Hirst Group, the leading flooring
company in Australia and
New Zealand, further extending
Mohawk's global position. Mohawk presently operates a
comprehensive warehouse and sales network in Australia and New
Zealand to distribute the company's wood, laminate,
LVT, vinyl and carpet products.
Godfrey Hirst is the most
vertically integrated flooring operation in Australia and New
Zealand, providing broadloom, modular carpet and hard
surface products for both residential and commercial applications.
Godfrey Hirst's sales were about
US$334 million in their most recent
fiscal year, which ended June 30,
2017. The transaction is expected to be completed during the
first half of 2018, pending customary closing conditions and
regulatory approvals. Mohawk anticipates that the transaction will
be accretive to EPS in the first twelve months.
Established in 1865, Godfrey
Hirst is the premier flooring manufacturer in Australia and New
Zealand as well as the market leader in design and
innovation. The company has been owned and operated by the
McKendrick family for the last 50 years and will continue to be led
by R.G. (Kim) McKendrick, the CEO
and Chairman.
"This is a great opportunity for Godfrey
Hirst, our employees, customers and suppliers," said
McKendrick. "Mohawk and Godfrey
Hirst share a long history as flooring industry leaders and
a commitment to product innovation, design, and superior customer
service. This common heritage in our cultures, performance
expectations and focus on excellence will enhance our growth
opportunities in both soft and hard flooring."
After decades of strong growth in Australia, Godfrey
Hirst acquired Feltex, which was the leading carpet
manufacturer in New Zealand in
2006. Today, Godfrey Hirst's
state-of-the-art operations and distribution assets are the most
vertically integrated in the region. The company produces premium
carpets of wool, nylon, polypropylene and triexta to satisfy all
channels and price points. Its products are sold under the
well-known Godfrey Hirst, Feltex and
Hycraft brands through specialty retailers, home centers,
architects and designers. In recent years, Godfrey Hirst has expanded its product offering
to provide a wide range of globally-sourced hard surface products,
including LVT, wood and laminate.
Jeffrey S. Lorberbaum, Mohawk's
chairman and chief executive officer, stated, "Mohawk's strategy in
Australia and New Zealand has been to build a leading
position in the flooring market. Godfrey
Hirst's marketing, manufacturing and distribution leadership
will complement our current hard surface distribution and
strengthen our portfolio. We will leverage our global flooring
resources and talent to support Godfrey
Hirst's outstanding management and accelerate their growth
strategies."
Lorberbaum added, "Mohawk is using its strong management team
and balance sheet to increase its participation in the global
flooring market. With Godfrey Hirst,
Mohawk will become the leader in flooring products in both
Australia and New Zealand with a platform for significant
growth."
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.
ABOUT MOHAWK INDUSTRIES
Mohawk Industries is the
leading global flooring manufacturer, which creates products to
enhance residential and commercial spaces around the world.
Mohawk's vertically integrated manufacturing and distribution
processes provide competitive advantages in the production of
carpet, rugs, ceramic tile, laminate, wood, stone and vinyl
flooring. Our industry-leading innovation has yielded products and
technologies that differentiate our brands in the marketplace and
satisfy all remodeling and new construction requirements. Our
brands are among the most recognized in the industry and include
American Olean, Daltile, Durkan, IVC, Karastan, Marazzi, Mohawk,
Mohawk Group, Pergo, Quick-Step and Unilin. During the past decade,
Mohawk has transformed its business from an American carpet
manufacturer into the world's largest flooring company with
operations in Australia,
Brazil, Canada, Europe, India, Malaysia, Mexico, New
Zealand, Russia and
the United States.
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SOURCE Mohawk Industries, Inc.