Photo by Keter Plastic Ltd. Keter Plastic Ltd. makes a range of housewares including storage systems and outdoor garden furniture.

Keter Plastic makes a range of housewares including storage systems and outdoor garden furniture.

The owner of Israeli housewares and outdoor furniture maker Keter Plastic has agreed to sell a majority stake in the company, according to several news media.

Sami Sagol agreed to a deal with London-based private equity BC Partners, various reports noted on 20 July. BC Partners reportedly could get an 80% stake in Keter Plastic in a deal valuing the company at $1.6bn (€1.45bn) to $1.7bn (€1.54bn).

Reuters and other media speculated on the deal in spring, when private equity firms Carlyle Group and CVC Capital Partners were also said to be interested in negotiations. BC Partners manages investments worth more than €100bn.

Keter Plastic is one of Israel’s largest private companies. Forbes estimated Sagol’s net worth at about $800m (€726m) in 2006. The company, which is based in Herzliya, Israel, operates 29 plants around the world, including one in Anderson, Ind. It employs about 1,400 and reportedly posts annual sales of about $1bn (€907m).

Keter Plastic’s origins date to 1948. The Sagol family has owned the business since 1971, when Joseph Sagol bought out his partners. Joseph Sagol’s sons Sami and Itzhak subsequently took over the reins of the company. In 1985 the company began making plastic furniture and soon diversified into garden sheds, toolboxes, housewares, bathroom cabinets, play houses and other consumer and recreational goods. In 2004 it added the Curver and Allibert brands.