Titan Global Holdings, Inc. has purchased the majority of all of the assets of Global Brand Marketing, Inc. (GBMI), including inventory, accounts receivable and intellectual property assets. Titan also said it hired the complete core of executives currently leading GBMI, including founder Killick Datta.
According to a filing with the SEC, the purchase price was $6.06 million. The purchase was financed through a credit facility pursuant to a loan and security agreement with Greystone Business Credit, GBMI's financier. Titan granted a security interest in all of GBMI's assets to the lenders as security for the loan.
GBMI, located in Santa Barbara, CA, owns the Dry-shoD, No Mass, Mehandi and Funflopps brand. Additionally, GBMI has been the global licensee for Nautica, Sean John and Seven For All Mankind. GBMI's biggest license, Diesel, announced in October plans to take the line in-house, ending a 10-year relationship with GBMI.
Datta will become president and CEO of Titan Apparel, a subsidiary established as part of the acquisition. Shortly after the first of the year, Datta will outline the strategic initiatives and vision for this Titan unit.
“GBMI and its founder Killick Datta enjoyed a storied history and in the process have aggregated a highly talented and seasoned management team,” said Kurt Jensen, Chairman of Titan Apparel, Inc. “We see exceptional long-term growth opportunities from this exciting new acquisition. We are looking forward to building on the past success that Killick and his team have achieved as a means to building additional value for our shareholders.”
“This acquisition is consistent with our stated goal of building shareholder value through the acquisition of businesses with promising growth potential and talented management,” said Bryan Chance, Titan's president and CEO.
GBMI has recently fallen into disarray. Since Diesel's move to take the license in house, GBMI has since laid off most of its staff and its four retail stores have been shuttered. Diesel also filed a lawsuit in New York against GBMI and GBMI's financier, Greystone Business Credit, alleging breach of contract for failing to make royalty payments. Diesel is also looking to claim 158,927 pairs of Diesel-branded shoes located in a GBMI warehouse.
Tital Global Holdings, based in Dallas, is a holding company in the telecommunications and the electronics/homeland security industries. it currently Oblio Telecom, Inc., a pre-paid calling card business, and Titan PCB, a printed circuit board manufacturer. It also recently formed an energy business and a Global Brands business to pursue acquisitions and rapid growth. According to a recent press release, Titan generated in excess of $111 million in revenues on a consolidated basis in fiscal 2007 and projects fiscal 2008 revenues up to $747 million. It currently trades on the OTCBB (OTC Bulletin Board) under the symbol TTGL but is applying for NASDAQ listing.
