Ideal Standard - Ideal Plumbing

For histories of the French, German, and English operations of the Ideal Standard group see European operations of the American Radiator Company

Ideal Standard International is a privately held multinational bathroom, sanitary ware and plumbing fixture company headquartered in Belgium. It operates primarily in Europe, Middle East and North Africa.

The brand Ideal Standard dates to the early 1900s. By the late 1940s, Ideal Standard used some products of companies of the American Standard group. The "Ideal" brand traces back to the "Ideal Boilers" and "American Radiators" brands used by the American Radiator Company.

Overview

The company was formed in 2007 by the sale of the bath and kitchen products businesses of American Standard Companies for $1.745 billion to Bain Capital Partners. The North American and Asian operations of American Standard were sold to Sun Capital and Lixil Group respectively, with the European and Latin American operations retained as Ideal Standard.

The company was then restructured, implementing cost cutting measures, and moving some of company's production facilities to Asia and Eastern Europe - a new production site was opened in Bulgaria. The acquisition by Bain Capital was facilitated by Credit Suisse and Bank of America; the creditors subsequently struggled to dispose of their debt.

The restructuring program was complete in 2011, but the company was loss making in 2012/3 due to poor sales. In 2013 the company reduced its workforce by 250 due to poor sales; further restructuring was proposed in 2014, including a debt for equity swap with bondholder Anchorage Capital. In 2014 the EU competition commission approved Anchorage Capital becoming joint owner of the company together with Bain Capital.

As of 2014 the company is headquartered in Belgium, and has over 10,000 employees. Its products include bathroom fittings including bathrooms, sanitary ware, and showers, sold under brands including Armitage Shanks, Ceramica Dolomite, Porcher and Vidima.