Barkat acquires Haber

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 6/16/2006 1:00:00 PM

New York — Barkat, the U.S. import arm of one of the three largest mills in Pakistan, has completed the $30 million acquisition of Dallas-based converter Haber Fabrics Corp., the company said today.

The all-cash acquisition involved Haber's assets but none of its debt, said Barry Marks, vp, sales and marketing for Barkat. It brings Barkat a 300,000-square-foot distribution center combined with doubling and folding operations. More important, it buys expanded warehousing, access to major accounts and the possibility of an additional port of entry through Houston, he said.

Haber's products are sold through numerous large accounts, including Wal-Mart, Jo-Ann and Hancock Fabrics. Barkat's parent, Fateh Group, was the major supplier to Haber, Marks said.

Barkat executive vp and director of U.S. operations Dr. Al Larik will oversee the Haber business. Barkat, whose business is focused on sheets and comforters, is wholly owned by the Fateh Group of Hyderabad, Pakistan, a large vertically integrated mill doing its own spinning, weaving, printing, cut and sew, finishing and other functions on a 57-acre facility employing 15,000 workers.