Fluidra strengthens itself not only in the field of swimming pools, but also in their cleaning. The Catalan company has acquired a 27% stake in the American company Aiper, a manufacturer of cordless robotic pool cleaners.
The operation, materialized through an issuance of new shares, has involved an investment by Fluidra of 92 million euros ---100 million dollars---. Thus, the Catalan multinational has closed a strategic alliance with the manufacturer, through which both companies intend to expand their customer bases.
This 27% acquisition, which is expected to close in the second half of this year, represents the first phase of an operation in which Fluidra plans to increase its stake in Aiper in a subsequent investment. With this, the Catalan company aims to achieve a majority stake in the company, in an operation that will be carried out when Aiper exceeds revenues of approximately 340 million euros and an EBITDA of around 15%.
Thus, this initial minority stake "paves the way for Fluidra to become a majority shareholder," as highlighted by Fluidra's CEO, Jaime Ramírez. For his part, Aiper's founder, Richard Wand, has argued that "joining forces with Fluidra, a global industry leader, is a great opportunity," both for its expansion and to take its technological innovations "to the next level."
Aiper, which operates two R&D centers with more than 270 engineers, has North America and Europe as its main markets, while its manufacturing partners are located in Vietnam and China. With 470 employees and worldwide sales, Aiper invoiced nearly 180 million euros in 2024 ---195 million dollars---, with a growth of 75% compared to the previous year.
The market for automatic pool cleaners is growing and has a long way to go: with some 30 million swimming pools worldwide, this technology has a penetration rate of less than 25%, so it has an extensive margin for growth that Fluidra and Aiper want to take advantage of with this alliance.