Deckers Outdoor Corporation acquired upscale casual footwear maker TSUBO, LLC for approximately $6 million in cash plus a potential future earn-out,. TSUBO had sales of roughly $10 million in the year ended Dec. 31, 2007.
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Imperial Headwear, Inc. acquired Washington-based Watership Trading Company, a marketer and distributor of technically advanced weather and sun protection hats.
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GSI Commerce Inc. agreed to acquire Innotrac Corp, an e-commerce fulfillment provider based in Duluth, GA. GSI, based in King of Prussia, PA, will pay $52 million in cash and stock and assume $9.9 million in debt. Innotrac had net debt of $9.9 million, making the aggregate value of the transaction $61.9 million.
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Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk acquired all interest in the Birdhouse Skateboards brand from Blitz Distribution, Inc. after an agreement with business partner of 15 years Per Welinder, a former professional skateboarder with Powell Skateboards.
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Puma AG took a majority stake in Dutch hosiery company Dobotex as of January 1, 2009. In a brief statement, the company, based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, did not indicate the size of the stake or the terms of the deal.
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Near the end of the year, Canadian Co-op, UFA Co-operative Limited said it signed a Memo of Understanding under which subject to completion of negotiations and due diligence it will acquire a majority interest in Sportsmans Warehouse. As part of the deal, UFA injected an undisclosed sum of capital into the retailer to help it restock its shelves in time for the holiday season. Utah-based Sportsmans Warehouse operates 67 stores in 38 states and generates sales of $800 million a year.
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Volcom started the year out with an acquisition, picking up current hot sunglass brand Electric for $25.25 million up front, with an additional $21 million possible through a 3-year earnout based on EBITDA. For 2007, Electric revenue was $23.5 million, with VLCM saying in the presentation that they expected approximately 20% growth in 2008. The deal was expected to be EPS-neutral for 2008.
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Billabong moved into the skate longboard market, acquiring Sector 9. That deal was expected to add approximately 2% to Billabong revenues.
Best of the MandA Rest (Year in Review)
K-Swiss Inc. plans to acquire French fashion footwear company Palladium SAS. The company will buy a 57% stake in Palladium from Palladium shareholders by July 1 at a price of 5.3 million, or $8.3 million, including a loan of 3.6 million, or $5.6 million. The remaining 43% will also be bought by K-Swiss based on a formula driven by Palladium's EBITDA for the year ending Dec. 31, 2012.
In a separate transaction, K-Swiss previously acquired the Palladium trademarks for the United States and Canada for $6 million in cash.
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Deckers Outdoor Corporation acquired upscale casual footwear maker TSUBO, LLC for approximately $6 million in cash plus a potential future earn-out,. TSUBO had sales of roughly $10 million in the year ended Dec. 31, 2007.
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Prince Sports acquired the platform tennis brand, Viking Athletics. The deal is the first for Prince Sports since Nautic Partners, based in Providence, RI, acquired a majority interest in the tennis brand in July 2007. Details of the deal, including the final purchase price, were not disclosed at the time of the transaction.
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Cramer Products, Inc. acquired Active Ankle Systems, Inc. Active Ankle is a manufacturer of ankle braces used by professional and amateur athletes. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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Dreams, Inc., which owns the FansEdge website and chain, acquired the assets of StarStruck/ProTeam, a catalog-focused retailer in the sports licensed products industry. Star Struck/ProTeam is one of the largest catalog and Internet retailers of licensed Major League and Minor League merchandise in the country. The company also produces the Official Catalog for The Mets.
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Sport Supply Group, Inc. acquired the rights to the Gold Medal trademark from Brownell & Company, Inc. Terms were not disclosed. Gold Medal is a manufacturer and distributor of specialized sports netting, protective netting, tennis nets and batting tunnel netting.
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Puma AG took a majority stake in Dutch hosiery company Dobotex as of January 1, 2009. In a brief statement, the company, based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, did not indicate the size of the stake or the terms of the deal.
Best of the M&A Rest
GSI Commerce Inc. agreed to acquire Innotrac Corp, an e-commerce fulfillment provider based in Duluth, GA. GSI, based in King of Prussia, PA, will pay $52 million in cash and stock and assume $9.9 million in debt. Innotrac had net debt of $9.9 million, making the aggregate value of the transaction $61.9 million.
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Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk acquired all interest in the Birdhouse Skateboards brand from Blitz Distribution, Inc. after an agreement with business partner of 15 years Per Welinder, a former professional skateboarder with Powell Skateboards.
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adidas International, Inc. acquired Textronics, Inc., a developer of wearable sensors for use in fitness monitoring, from Physic Ventures. Terms were not disclosed. Textronics develops and commercializes functional products that integrate sensing fibers directly into the fabric of garments, allowing for the measurement of electrical, optical or magnetic signals without using cumbersome electrodes attached to the body. This includes heart and respiration measurements, vital statistics and motion detection.
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Daiwa Seiko Inc acquired the entire share capital of Japanese golf club manufacturer, Fourteen Golf Inc. Best known for its wedges and hybrids, Fourteen Golf has been designing clubs for major manufacturers such as Titleist and Wilson for nearly 30 years. In 2000, the company created its own brand and has been successful in the Asian market. Due to this success, the company decided to launch a U.S. office in 2005 and has been gaining popularity here ever since.
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Collective Brands, Inc.s Stride Rite subsidiary reacquired the PRO-Keds rights it had previously licensed out to Damon Dash.
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Imperial Headwear, Inc. acquired Washington-based Watership Trading Company, a marketer and distributor of technically advanced weather and sun protection hats.
