One of Leicestershire's best-known industrial firms has been bought by a private equity company co-founded by former US presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Ibstock Brick, based Ibstock, north west Leicestershire, has been taken over by Bain Capital after being sold by building products giant CRH as part of a £414 million deal.
The company, the UK's largest brick maker, was founded in the north west Leicestershire village in 1899.
The business employs about 2,000 people at 24 UK sites, including scores of workers at the firm's headquarters in Leicester Road, Ibstock. It had been owned by CRH since 1999.
Bain Capital declined to comment on whether jobs would be affected by the takeover. However, UK brick production needs to rise to meet demand and closing and consolidating production sites is expensive and time-consuming. High transport costs also tend to make it less cost-effective to have fewer brick factories.
After being hit hard during the recession, Ibstock and its nearest competitors – Hanson, which has a factory in Measham, and Wienerberger – are benefiting from an upturn in the housing market.
Bain Capital has also bought UK concrete product makers Forticrete, of Bedfordshire, and Kent-based Supreme Concrete, as well as US clay business Glen Gery, from Dublin-based CRH as part of the same deal.
Mr Romney, who co-founded Bain Capital in 1984, is the firm's former chief executive. He has not been directly employed by the business for at least 10 years. Mr Romney stood against Barack Obama as the Republican US presidential candidate in 2012.
Bain already has a major presence in the UK, with major investments including Brakes, the food services firm, and Securitas Direct, which makes and installs security alarms for homes and business.