GERMANY - Subject to the approval of antitrust authorities, Germany's Hettich Group plans to acquire all shares of the Italian FGV Group.

Following the merger, Hettich and FGV intend to complement each other's strengths to continuously develop existing business activities and offer their customers higher value-added solutions. "We, Hettich and FGV, are two family-owned companies with a long history in our common sector, the furniture hardware industry. We look forward to moving into the future together soon, learning from each other and becoming even more powerful together, keeping customer interest and satisfaction as top priority," says Dr. Andreas Hettich, shareholder and chairman of the Advisory Board of the Hettich Group.

"Hettich is a global market leader that, like us, has a wealth of experience in furniture hardware. FGV wishes to combine its know-how and flexibility with the Hettich Group as soon as possible in order to develop successfully in the future and to provide a promising future for FGV's management and employees," says Renato Formenti, Chairman of the Board of FGV.

Since both Hettich and FGV will remain independent brands and companies within the Hettich Group, customers of both companies will maintain their usual contacts even after the planned merger, so customer service will continue as usual. The experienced management teams of Hettich and FGV will ensure the necessary continuity and joint development.

"We will work together in the background in a closely interconnected manner in the future. Our customers will continue to be serviced by their regular contacts, whom they know and appreciate," emphasize Silvana Riboldi, Head of Sales at FGV, and Uwe Kreidel, General Manager Sales and Marketing at Hettich.