Dec. 28, 2015—LKQ Corp. announced last week that it has expanded into 10 European countries with the $1.1 billion acquisition of Rhiag-Inter Auto Parts Italia S.p.A. (Rhiag), a leading pan-European distributor of aftermarket parts.
Rhiag operates 247 distribution centers and 10 warehouses and serves more than 100,000 clients in Italy, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland and Spain.
The transaction, which was first announced Dec. 22, is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2016, according to an LKQ release.
“Rhiag expands our addressable market with the addition of 10 new countries to our European footprint,” stated Robert L. Wagman, president and CEO of LKQ Corporation. “Rhiag has a strong market position in Italy and the Czech Republic and experienced management teams in their respective markets. Clearly this acquisition will accelerate our strategy of creating a Pan-European aftermarket mechanical parts distribution business in this highly-fragmented €188 billion wholesale DIFM market.”
