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Grainger Sells Fabory, Its European Fastener Business

CHICAGO - Grainger (NYSE: GWW), the global broad line supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products for businesses and institutions, says it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its European fastener business, Fabory Group, to Torqx Capital Partners, a Dutch private equity company. Grainger acquired Fabory in 2011 for $344 million.

Employing 1,100, Fabory is a leading specialist supplier of fasteners and fastener related products in the Benelux with a pan-European presence. Fabory sources a broad assortment of high quality and mission-critical fasteners from suppliers worldwide and distributes over 400,000 products to o 60,000 customers throughout Europe.

"I want to thank the Fabory team for their innovative and customer-focused approach," said DG Macpherson, Chairman and CEO of Grainger.  "I'm confident the acquisition by Torqx will better align with Fabory's growth objectives.” Grainger, with $11.5 billion in sales in 2019, lists over 88,000 fastener products at its website. It says it will continue offering broad line MRO products to customers in Western Europe through its Cromwell and Zoro businesses.

"Based on our extensive experience and strong track record with technical distribution businesses, we see a strong fit between Fabory and Torqx,” says Harmen Geerts, Managing Partner of Torqx. “We can help the company to strengthen its position as leading fastener specialist in its core markets and achieve its full potential."

The transaction is subject to the standard regulatory approvals, and the deal is expected to close in the coming months.