China's Grandland buys Italian cladding expert Permasteelisa 
China's Grandland Group is to buy 100% of Italian cladding specialist Permasteelisa for €467m ($548m). Permasteelisa, whose parent company is Tokyo-based LIXIL Group, which is selling the Italian company at a loss, has worked on products such as the Shard in London and the Sydney Opera House. In July, it was fined £15m over a series of safety failures involving glass shards falling from the 125 Old Broad Street project on to the street below.

Italian cladding specialist Permasteelisa is set to be snapped up by Chinese-based Grandland Group.

Permasteelisa’s parent company, the Toyko-based LIXIL Group Corporation, announced that it had decided to sell 100 per cent of the shares of Permasteelisa SpA to Grandland Holdings Group for €467m (£425.7m).

The specialist contractor has worked on projects including the Shard, Walkie Talkie and 125 Old Broad Street in the UK, as well as high-profile schemes such as the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

The firm reported an annual turnover of €1.4bn (£1.27bn) in its most recent accounts.

According to Permasteelisa, the firm will continue to target “high-quality projects” at the top end of the market.

In April Permasteelisa scooped a preconstruction services agreement with Greenland Group for the £800m Spire tower in Canary Wharf.

Last month the firm was fined a total of £15m over a series of “disastrous” safety failures which saw glass shards fall from the 125 Old Broad Street project onto the street below.

Ruling on the case, the High Court’s Justice Stuart-Smith found that between 2008 and 2012 there were 17 “spontaneous failures” of glass panes on the building.

Current chief executive Riccardo Mollo, who will continue in his role after the takeover is complete, said: “Combining Permasteelisa’s position as a premium leader in the market and its scale across EMEA, North and South America as well as parts of Asia, along with Grandland’s industrial integration capabilities and strength in China, will create an even a bigger player in the curtain wall segment globally.

“While Permasteelisa will maintain its operating independence, the opportunities for operating synergies with Grandland are tremendous.”

The remainder of Permasteelisa’s management team is also due to stay in place after the takeover.

The sale is subject to regulatory approval in China, the US and Russia.