Japan's Lixil bids for American Standard for USD542m

(MENAFN) Japan's Lixil Group Corp plans to acquire toilet and plumbing facilities maker ASD Americas Holding Corp (American Standard) for USD542 million from buyout firm Sun Capital Partners Inc, Reuters reported. The country's biggest building products maker Lixil, which was looking to enter the North American market, said it would keep American Standard headquartered in the US and continue operating all of its existing facilities. Sun Capital acquired American Standard in 2007 from private equity peer Bain Capital LLC for USD130 million. The deal was beneficial to the struggling company as Sun Capital helped it return to profitability, subsequently merging it with three of its companies including Crane Plumbing, Eljer and Decorative Panels International, and acquiring another company as well, Safety Tubs LLC, as a bolt-on.