by Alexandra Steigrad
Posted Monday May 23, 2011
From WWD.COM
Steven Madden Ltd. said Monday that it bought privately held Topline Corp. for $55 million in cash.
The deal is expected to be immediately accretive, contributing about 5 cents to 7 cents in diluted earnings in its first year under Steve Madden ownership after giving effect to the company’s recently announced 3-for-2 stock split.
The transaction also includes an earn-out provision based on financial performance through June 30, 2012.
“Topline’s private label business is one of the best in our industry and is highly complementary to our existing private label footwear business. And its brands, led by Report, are currently exhibiting outstanding growth and represent great additions to our brand portfolio,” said Steven Madden chairman and chief executive officer Edward Rosenfeld. “In addition, Topline has a premier direct sourcing platform that we believe will provide significant opportunities for the Company as a whole.”
Founded in 1980, Topline, which owns brands like Report, Report Signature and R2 by Report, had unaudited net sales in 2010 of approximately $189 million.
Madden last year acquired Big Buddha, a handbag supplier, and the Betsey Johnson and Betseyville trademarks. It also pumped $5 million into Bakers Footwear Group in exchange for nearly 20 percent of the company.
