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Hunter Douglas

Not to be confused with the Hunter-Douglas division of Bridgeport Brass Company

Hunter Douglas N.V. is a Dutch multinational corporation. Its principal business is making window blinds and coverings.[1][2] The company is publicly listed.

The head office is in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and a management office in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Structure

The current corporate structure, Hunter Douglas N.V., was formed in the Netherlands Antilles in 1971 as a result of a restructuring of the previous Canadian entity, Hunter Douglas Ltd.[3][4] For tax reasons, investors could select either common or preferred shares through 1990. The company operates in more than 100 countries.[5]

In February 2022, former CEO Ralph Sonnenberg transferred a 75% interest to 3G Capital through a Block Trade, the Sonnenberg Family now owns 25% of Hunter Douglas Group.[6]

Acquisitions

In 2013, Hunter Douglas purchased a minority stake in 247 Home Furnishings Ltd (247), which they did not make known to the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA). At a later date in 2016, Hunter Douglas purchased a majority share in Blinds2Go which is by far the largest UK retailer of made-to-measure blinds. Following that, Hunter Douglas made a second acquisition of Hillarys Blinds in 2017. At this point, Hunter Douglas already owned a significant share of the market before purchasing a majority stake of 51% for 247 in 2019. The initial purchase in 2013 had not been cleared with the CMA and the second purchase would have given Hunter Douglas 100% ownership of 247. As a result of concerns around competition in the market, Hunter Douglas was forced to sell their 51% purchase of shares from 2019. This sale was completed and approved by the CMA and went to Cristobal Consulting Ltd.[7][8][9][10]

In March 2022, Hunter Douglas completed the acquisition of 74% of Droma-Sunshade Experts, an exterior sunscreen assembler, with a fast-growing sales presence in Western Europe.[11]

In October 2023, Hunter Douglas fully acquired Select Blinds- a leading US e-commerce blinds retailer.[12][13]

External links

References

  1. Company News: Hunter Douglass to Purchase Comfortex The New York Times, 26 June 1999, retrieved 23 March 2013^
  2. Jeffrey Leib. Hunter Douglas keeps secrets in shade: Broomfield window-covering firm expects $350 million in sales in '92 Denver Post, May 25, 1992, retrieved March 21, 2013^
  3. Johnathan Love. Jane's Major Companies of Europe Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1977^
  4. Profile Canadian Business, CB Media, 1972^
  5. About Hunter Douglas Hunter Douglas, retrieved June 12, 2022^
  6. 3G CAPITAL COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF CONTROLLING INTEREST IN HUNTER DOUGLAS Hunter Douglas IR, February 25, 2022, retrieved June 12, 2022^
  7. Hunter Douglas N.V. / 247 Home Furnishings Ltd merger inquiry 21 November 2019, retrieved 13 January 2022^
  8. Customers could lose out in merger between window blind companies 16 July 2020, retrieved 13 January 2022^
  9. Final decision published in window blind merger inquiry 14 September 2020, retrieved 13 January 2022^
  10. Window Blind Deal Clared by CMA 4 August 2021, retrieved 13 January 2022^
  11. HUNTER DOUGLAS COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF 74% OF DROMA-SUNSHADE EXPERTS Hunter Douglas IR, March 3, 2022, retrieved June 12, 2022^
  12. Hunter Douglas acquires minority in select blinds^
  13. Select Blinds^