Fiskars announced Monday that as part of its growth strategy, it agreed to buy the WWRD group of companies, which trade in a number of premium brands such as such as Waterford, known for crystal stemware, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and Royal Albert, which represent chinaware and crystal ware under the Slovenian Rogaška brand.
The creator of the unmistakable orange-handled ergonomic scissors said it had agreed a price of 406 million euros for the complete buyout from WWRD’s US-based private equity investor KPS Capital Partners.
It added that the deal would provide it with a strong presence in the US market. WWRD has a retail network comprising 226 stores and employs nearly 4,000 workers in 14 countries. Once the acquisition is final, the Fiskars group will have a total of 8,600 employees on its payroll worldwide.
In 2007 Fiskars purchased the Iittala Group and in 2013 bought the Danish porcelain manufacturer Royal Copenhagen.
