Daun & Cie Buys Home Fabrics and Fabric Library
March 19, 2001
Midrand South Africa – Waco International sold fabric wholesalers and converters Fabric Library and Home Fabrics, respectively, to Daun & Cie AG Group of Germany for an undisclosed price.
Waco, a South Africa-based holding company whose core subsidiaries are involved primarily in engineering, was acquired last year by Ethos Private Equity for about $370 million, which one South African market observer described as the "largest private equity deal ever in South Africa."
When Ethos took over, it divested itself of Waco's lone textiles subsidiaries, Fabric Library and Home Fabrics.
Michael Pellet, chief executive, of Fabric Library said the company welcomed change of ownership. "The only textiles companies in the group were Home Fabrics and The Fabric Library. We were therefore very pleased to have negotiated the sale of the textile interests to Claus Daun, CEO of Daun &Cie AG Group.
"We are now privately owned and finally in an international textile environment. Daun & Cie have very substantial interests in textile manufacturing and distribution in Europe and South Africa," he said.
"The advantages of the change are considerable," Gelb said. "We are now part of a group of companies with the same focus and interest, with control now in the hands of people who understand the industry and appreciate our position within it."
At the time the transaction was approved by South Africa's Competition Board, no changes in the management structure of either company were imminent, with the exception that the chief executives, Gelb and Pellet, from each company now report to Daun & Cie management. The companies will continue to operate independently.
Daun and Cie also owns K.B.C./Texunion (France), Unland (Germany), and several South African weavers, printers, dyers, spinners and finishers. CEO Claus Daun, whose investments in South Africa are reported at around $152 million, also has holdings in South African coal and gold mining and property. Most recently, he backed the sale of South African's oldest gold mine, East Rand Proprietary Mines to a Enderbrooke Investments, a black empowerment group there. Daun also sits on an eight-member advisory board to the chairman of the Southern Africa Initiative of German Business.
Waco, a South Africa-based holding company whose core subsidiaries are involved primarily in engineering, was acquired last year by Ethos Private Equity for about $370 million, which one South African market observer described as the "largest private equity deal ever in South Africa."
When Ethos took over, it divested itself of Waco's lone textiles subsidiaries, Fabric Library and Home Fabrics.
Michael Pellet, chief executive, of Fabric Library said the company welcomed change of ownership. "The only textiles companies in the group were Home Fabrics and The Fabric Library. We were therefore very pleased to have negotiated the sale of the textile interests to Claus Daun, CEO of Daun &Cie AG Group.
"We are now privately owned and finally in an international textile environment. Daun & Cie have very substantial interests in textile manufacturing and distribution in Europe and South Africa," he said.
"The advantages of the change are considerable," Gelb said. "We are now part of a group of companies with the same focus and interest, with control now in the hands of people who understand the industry and appreciate our position within it."
At the time the transaction was approved by South Africa's Competition Board, no changes in the management structure of either company were imminent, with the exception that the chief executives, Gelb and Pellet, from each company now report to Daun & Cie management. The companies will continue to operate independently.
Daun and Cie also owns K.B.C./Texunion (France), Unland (Germany), and several South African weavers, printers, dyers, spinners and finishers. CEO Claus Daun, whose investments in South Africa are reported at around $152 million, also has holdings in South African coal and gold mining and property. Most recently, he backed the sale of South African's oldest gold mine, East Rand Proprietary Mines to a Enderbrooke Investments, a black empowerment group there. Daun also sits on an eight-member advisory board to the chairman of the Southern Africa Initiative of German Business.
