Paris, France—Tarkett has completed the acquisition of Lexmark Carpet Mills. What’s more, Paul Cleary, CEO of Lexmark, will join Tarkett as president of the hospitality business for North America.
“With the acquisition of Lexmark, Tarkett has reinforced its position in carpet for hospitality in North America and is now one of the three leaders in this segment,” said Fabrice Barthélemy, acting chairman of Tarkett’s management board. “Additionally, this move enables us to provide a global flooring offering to key international accounts and strengthens our expertise in this segment. We are very pleased to welcome Paul Cleary and his team to the Tarkett family.”
Lexmark produces high-quality carpet, primarily for the North American hospitality market, and is well-recognized among leading hospitality chains for its state-of-the-art products and services. The company achieved approximately $120m of sales in 2017, employs 460 people and operates one plant in the U.S.
The addition of Lexmark to the North America division enables Tarkett to establish a robust hospitality business that leverages both companies’ broad product portfolios, strategically positioning the company to better serve the complete needs of its hospitality customers. Tarkett has also identified sales and supply chain synergies, which will enable optimized performance and contribute to a seamless integration.
The acquisition will be immediately accretive to Group EBITDA margin up to +50bps after synergies on a full year basis. The transaction will be financed with an existing credit facility. On a pro-forma basis, Tarkett expects its leverage ratio to remain below 2.5x Adjusted EBITDA at the end of the year.