Leading Ceramics Company Announces Full Acquisition of Its KSA Joint Ventures

Press release

Published October 9th, 2018 - 07:15 GMT

Over the last few years RAK Ceramics has been consolidating its global operations and this latest purchase follows acquisitions in Europe, India, and Australia.

RAK Ceramics, one of the leading ceramics' brands in the world, today announced that it has acquired the remaining minority shares of its joint ventures in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and therefore now fully owns its KSA operations.

Over the last few years RAK Ceramics has been consolidating its global operations and this latest purchase follows acquisitions in Europe, India, and Australia. Europe and KSA are the company's major export markets, followed by the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. In 2017 around 31.7% of its tile and sanitaryware sales originated from the UAE and 68.3% was the result of its export operations to different regions around the world.

Saudi Arabia is already an important export market for RAK Ceramics and with the Kingdom's 'Saudi Vision 2030' already underway the future growth in the region looks promising.

Abdallah Massaad, Group CEO of RAK Ceramics said: "We are pleased to have fully acquired our joint ventures both in Riyadh and Jeddah, enabling us to gain greater control and access into one of our key markets. We are excited about strengthening our global brand in KSA and operating as a single corporate entity across the Kingdom, reporting directly into our global headquarters in Ras Al Khaimah. This latest acquisition is a positive step for us and we are looking forward to fully integrating our Saudi operations. These recent acquisitions reaffirm our commitment to strengthening our core business interests in line with our Value Creation Plan."

Taking control of its distribution operations in core markets is a key part of RAK Ceramics' Value Creation Plan (VCP). The VCP was initiated in 2014 and designed to unlock hidden value in the business by offloading non-performing businesses and generating cash to reinvest, streamlining company operations, gaining greater control over its distribution networks and uniting RAK Ceramics as one company and one brand, with a single global corporate brand identity.

Background Information

RAK Ceramics

RAK Ceramics is one of the largest ceramics’ brands in the world. Specialising in ceramic and gres porcelain wall and floor tiles and sanitaryware we produce 110 million square metres of tiles and 5 million pieces of sanitaryware per year at our 16 state-of-the-art plants across the United Arab Emirates, India, Bangladesh and Iran.
Headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, we serve clients in more than 150 countries through our network of operational hubs in Europe, Middle East and North Africa, Asia, North and South America and Australia. Across our global operations we employ approximately 15,000 staff from more than 40 nationalities.