A South Korean clothing company, E-Land, told Bloomberg News it will make a bid to buy Collective Brands Inc., the owner of Sperry Top-Sider, Saucony, Keds, Stride-Rite and Payless.
“E-Land seeks to buy Collective Brands,” Ro Byung Gyoo, a spokesman for E-Land Group, told Bloomberg News. He declined to give details of the offer, including the bid price.
Maeil Business Newspaper earlier reported that E-Land Group is preparing a $1.8 billion joint offer for the company with institutional investors such as National Pension Service and Korea Development Group. Acquiring Collective Brands would help E-Land reach its target of $5.3 billion from footwear sales by 2015, according to the Maeil newspaper.
In August 2011, Collective Brands said it hired Perella Weinberg Partners and Kurt Salmon to explore strategic options, including a potential sale.
In early February, Collective Brands reportedly reduced the potential pool of suitors for all or part of its business as it moves to the second round of bidding. Initial offers were said to come in from buyout firms TPG Capital and
Leonard Green & Partners LP, as well as from U.S. competitors including
Wolverine World Wide, Columbia Sportswear and Deckers Outdoor.
