The business was acquired with funds from private equity investment group Apax Partners. Rhiag operates through 247 distribution centers and 10 warehouses, and serves more than 100,000 professional clients.
The funds advised by Apax Partners announced that LKQ Corp. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the holding company of Rhiag-Inter Auto Parts Italia S.p.A, a pan-European business-to-business distributor of aftermarket spare parts for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, for an enterprise value of €1.04 billion (approximately $1.13 billion). Rhiag has operations in Italy, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland and Spain. Rhiag operates through 247 distribution centers and 10 warehouses, and serves more than 100,000 professional clients.
The transaction is expected to be complete early in the second quarter of 2016 and is subject to customary closing conditions and necessary regulatory approvals.
“Rhiag expands our addressable market with the addition of 10 new countries to our European footprint,” said Robert Wagman, president and CEO of LKQ Corp. “Rhiag has a strong market position in Italy and the Czech Republic and experienced management teams in their respective markets. Clearly this acquisition will accelerate our strategy of creating a Pan-European aftermarket mechanical parts distribution business in this highly-fragmented €188 billion (approximately $203.68 billion) wholesale DIFM market.”
Luca Zacchetti, Rhiag Group CEO, commented, “I believe that, combined with LKQ, Rhiag Group will be in an even stronger position to deliver its superior service level to customers across Europe. I am committed to pursuing our existing strategic goal of profitable market share growth.”