Aspiring interior designers will soon be able to buy hearty oil-fired Aga cookers and Fired Earth tiles under the same roof, thanks to the takeover of the paints and ceramics firm by Aga Foodservice Group for £30m yesterday.
Aga, which has a £150m war chest following the disposal of its pipes business earlier this year, snapped up Fired Earth from PPM Ventures, Prudential's private equity arm.
Aga's chief executive, William McGrath, said he would seek to cross-fertilise both brands in their respective stores. The deal will provide Aga with a much-needed south-east England platform via Fired Earth's 46 showrooms and out of town shops, and give Fired Earth access to many of Aga's 87 shops and centres across the UK.
Mr McGrath said he will be seeking further acquisitions on the food service side - particularly in the US: "Since the US market started to slow, we believe there are plenty of opportunities. It is the right time to have net cash."
Of the £29.5m Aga is paying for Fired Earth, some £20m is debt, which means that founder Nicholas Kneale, with a 20% stake, pocketed £2m. Fired Earth made £2.1m operating profits on £18m sales last year and was taken private in 1998 for £20.6m. Aga shares rose 1p to 251p.
