This post was originally published on this site
Victoria has supplied the British royal family for years, including providing the red carpet for the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
Dave Thompson/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Koch Industries has agreed to invest more than £218 million ($285 million) in Victoria, a British flooring company that supplies lavish red carpets to the royal family.
The second-largest private company in the US, Koch Industries is the sprawling multinational run for years by billionaire brothers Charles and David, who died last year.
Victoria VCP, +14.48%, listed on the FTSE Alternative Investment Market, was established in 1895 and is a designer, manufacturer, and distributor of carpet, ceramic and porcelain tiles, underlay, artificial grass, and other flooring products.
The company announced after markets closed Thursday that a subsidiary of Koch Industries would invest £175 million in Victoria, with the funds earmarked for the company “to move quickly and decisively” on new acquisitions.
Victoria has a market capitalization of more than £536 million and has seen its revenues surge over the past decade as it pursued takeovers.
Also read: Here’s what David Koch’s death means for conservative political spending
Koch Industries will make an initial £75 million investment for shares with no voting rights, followed by another £100 million over the next 18 months at the company’s option.
In addition, it was announced Friday that Koch had purchased a 10% stake in Victoria from another shareholder, Invesco IVZ, +1.66%, for £43.75 million at a price of £3.50 per share.
Victoria will also undertake a buyback program of nearly 7% of the issued share capital for £3.50 per share. These actions must be approved by Victoria’s shareholders.
“Victoria’s business model has proven resilient this year during the most difficult trading conditions in living memory,” said Geoff Wilding, Victoria’s executive chairman. “So, the time has now come to again focus on growth and the capital provided by Koch will enable us to deliver significant value creation while maintaining stable and secure debt leverage ratios”
Read this opinion: The math Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should have done on this one big expense before splitting from the royal family
The flooring company has supplied the British royal family for years, including providing the red carpet for the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
Koch Industries is a conglomerate with a primary interest in manufacturing, refining, and distributing petroleum and chemical products. The company, which has revenues of around $110 billion, is also involved in software, automotive parts, and ranching, and employs around 130,000 people in over 70 countries around the world.
The Koch brothers grew their family business to be one of the most influential political dynasties in America, wielding power in the Republican Party through donations to numerous conservative causes.
