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Doughty Hanson buys majority stake in E600m Belgian carpet company

Doughty Hanson has acquired a majority stake in Belgian carpet manufacturer, Balta Industries, in what represents the firm's first transaction in the Benelux region. The deal values the company at E600m.

The transaction sees the private equity firm acquire a 70 per cent stake from the Balcaen family. The Balcaens will retain a 20 per cent interest in the business, while the management team will take control of the remaining ten per cent.

'We were immediately impressed by Balta's management team and its results in recent years,' said Yann Duchesne, Doughty Hanson's managing director in France. 'Balta is a market-leading business with significant competitive advantages and excellent growth potential. We look forward to working with Balta's management team to developing the business further in the same non-nonsense spirit it has been developed to date.'

Balta was founded in 1964 and has seen its turnover triple since 1990. The company's turnover exceeded E460m last year. Balta's products are sold in Germany, the UK, France, Eastern Europe and the Far East.

Doughty Hanson is presently raising a new fund. It has a target of E3bn but progress has been slow to date.

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