Caesarstone Buying Porcelain-Slab Producer

MP MENASHE, Israel – Caesarstone Ltd. will augment its quartz-surfaces production later this year with porcelain slabs following majority-stake acquisition of Lioli Ceramica Pvt. Ltd.

The deal, announced today, is for approximately $12 million in cash and assumption of debt of Lioli, which operates a fully automated slab-production factory in Morbi, India. The purchase, representing an enterprise (total) value of $34 million, also includes a possible $10 million in additional considerations

The buy-in is subject to what Caesarstone referred to as “customary closing conditions” and is expected to close by year’s end.

“This acquisition is a major step in our efforts to advance our global growth acceleration plan and to realize our goal of becoming a leading premium, multi-material player in the global countertop industry,” said Caesarstone CEO Yuval Dagim. “Lioli’s state-of-the-art porcelain operations combined with Caesarstone’s highly valued brand and established global network will strengthen our unique value proposition and our ability to accelerate a multi-material growth strategy.”

Lioli, incorporated in 2016, opened its Morbi factory in 2018 with an investment of €30 million for a one-million-square-meter plant using Italian technology from SYSTEM Ceramics, Modena and TecnoFerrari, among others. The company claimed the plant could produce up to 13,000 m² (107,639 ft²) per day.

Under the TechnoSLAB brand name, products from Lioli included up to 75 designs in sizes up to 3,200mm X 1,600mm (10.5’ X 5.2’), and thicknesses from 4mm to 1.2cm. The company originally exported products to the Mideast, as well as Brazil and Mexico.

In announcing the acquisition, Caesarstone noted that Lioli showed approximately $18 million in annual revenue.

Lioli also planned to exhibit products at this year’s Coverings in New Orleans, but concerns over COVID-19 led to the cancellation of the April event.

Caesarstone is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol CSTE.

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