Famous Spanish family business close to deal with PE fund

Lladró, the maker of porcelain figurines, is poised to being sold to a private equity fund after years of wranglings between the three brothers who set the company up in 1953.

The Madrid private equity fund, PHI Industrial Acquisitions, is close to finalising the deal, which is expected to go through in January after likely shareholder approval early in the month, according to a report in El Pais.

The Lladró brothers –  Juan, José and Vicente – launched the business in a village just outside the city of Valencia and started making the famous figurines in 1956, which soon gained a worldwide reputation. Reports say the brothers have been in disagreement over the strategy for the struggling group for years; the workforce has been cut drastically since the 1980s. The brothers will leave the business after the deal is finalised, say reports.

PHI specialises in buying struggling family businesses and turning them around.