Rosenthal's insolvency administrator, Volker Boehm, announced the deal on Monday, saying that Sambonet had restored hope for the embattled procelain company.

"I am extremely happy that we have found an investor like Sambonet for Rosenthal; they complement each other perfectly," Boehm said. Rosenthal specializes primarily in china, whilst Sambonet makes cutlery.

Both sides agreed to keep the terms of the buyout deal a secret. Italian buyers Sambonet have promised to take over responsibility for all of Rosenthal's remaining factories and employees. Sambonet, with the help of principal creditor the Bank of America, is to take over Rosenthal in its entirety, acquiring all employees, trademark rights, patents and production facilities.

Decades at the dinner table

Rosenthal was founded in 1879, and is one of Germany's most famous porcelain producers. However, the company was forced into bankruptcy in January, when its Irish principal shareholder Waterford Wedgwood went bust. Waterford Wedgwood owned 91 percent of Rosenthal.

Rosenthal had already begun its restructuring process, closing unprofitable production facilities and laying off around 300 employees. Sambonet boss Pierluigi Coppo expressed optimism about the company's new future.

"There's a lot of work ahead of us to turn Rosenthal around and integrate it with [Sambonet]," he said, "but we are confident and proud to spearhead Rosenthal's new beginning."

Rosenthal still employs 1,200 people worldwide, 1,000 of them in Germany.

msh/dpa/AP

Editor: Neil King