US buyout saves Waterford jobs
Almost 1,400 jobs have been saved after a New York investment group nailed down a deal to buy struggling crystal and china firm Waterford Wedgwood, it was revealed tonight.
KPS Capital Partners LP agreed last month to save key parts of the prestigious UK and Irish business after it went into administration, narrowly avoiding permanent closure.
The US investors have vowed to rebuild the company and develop its renowned brands for the global market.
Among the sites saved are the flagship Waterford Crystal visitor centre and factory in Waterford and the Wedgwood pottery Royal Doulton in Staffordshire.
Pierre de Villemejane, chief executive officer of the new parent company WWRD Holdings, said the sale was the beginning of an exciting new era.
“We look forward to building on the company’s world-renowned brands and incomparable heritage, premier designers and strong customer relationships,” he said.
“No other company in this dynamic sector has a comparable breadth of products from classic to contemporary, and we intend to grow the business aggressively.
“Our exclusive focus will be on providing our customers with the most innovative, fashionable and quality products in the world.”
In a statement, WWRD Holdings set out its stall, further claiming it was planning to grow the company organically but ultimately target a global market.
“We believe that our primary competitors are generally under-capitalised and regionally focused, presenting a significant opportunity to consolidate the industry worldwide,” Mr de Villemejane said.
KPS said it has also bought other overseas assets from the Waterford Wedgwood Group in North America, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia.
Consultants Deloitte, which took branches of Waterford Wedgwood into receivership and administration, announced that the deal had been finalised and revealed that 1,396 jobs will be saved.
The company had struggled for years despite attempts to restructure the business and attract a new kind of buyer with revamped product lines and celebrity endorsements from the likes of chef Gordon Ramsay and designer Terence Conran.
There are about 210 Irish employees and 1,520 in the UK. Hundreds of employees have been axed since the group collapsed late last year while hundreds of retired workers feared they would be hit by a pensions black hole.
More than 300 UK staff lost their jobs in mid-January, mainly at the firm’s site in Barlaston, Staffordshire, while Deloitte made 490 employees redundant in Ireland – a seven-week sit-in at the Kilbarry crystal factory and visitor centre ended last Sunday after a financial package was agreed with KPS.
It is understood that €10m is being spread among 800 workers.
Wedgwood, which can trace its origins back 250 years, collapsed after negotiations with a private equity firm for parts of the business failed to bear fruit.
A number of other parties were said to have been interested in snapping up the Waterford businesses, reportedly including another private equity firm in the US called Clarion Capital and two members of the Wedgwood family, who wanted to buy the ceramics Wedgwood arm.
Tom R Wedgwood and Tom D Wedgwood – eighth-generation descendants of Josiah Wedgwood, who founded the firm which was later taken over by Waterford – had been in talks with five investors over a possible bid for the Wedgwood business.
