GS, KKR buy KION for $5.2B

A consortium of investors that includes Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. has closed the purchase of KION Group, the Germany-based forklift division of Linde AG. The price was 4 billion Euro ($5.2 billion). With 20,000 employees, KION Group generated sales of about 3.6 billion Euro ($4.7 billion) in its 2005 fiscal year. The company sells forklift trucks and warehouse equipment under the brand names Linde, STILL and OM. www.kiongroup.com