Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
US housewares suppliers Lifetime Brands and Filament Brands today (Tuesday December 26) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Lifetime will acquire Filament in a cash and stock transaction.
Based upon the closing price of Lifetime Brands’ common stock on December 21 2017, the transaction is valued at $313 million and is expected to close in the first half of 2018. Lifetime will continue to be headquartered in New York, with a significant presence in Seattle, and will maintain its regional facilities around the world.
Upon completion of the transaction, Filament ceo Rob Kay will become Lifetime Brands ceo. Jeffrey Siegel, currently chairman and ceo of Lifetime Brands, will become executive chairman of the company. Daniel Siegel will remain president of the company and Ronald Shiftan will remain vice chairman of the board.
In conjunction with the closing of the transaction, Rob Kay and two representatives of Filament’s owner Centre Partners – Bruce Pollack and Michael Schnabel – will join the company’s board, which will expand to 13 directors.
After the closing, Lifetime Brands will have an enhanced portfolio of products across key categories. With approximately $178 million in revenue in the 12 months ending September 2017, Filament offers brands including Rabbit, Chef’n, Taylor, Salter and Springfield.
Lifetime Brands’ products include products marketed under kitchenware brands including Farberware, KitchenAid, Cuisine de France, Fred & Friends, Guy Fieri, KitchenCraft, Kizmos, Misto, Mossy Oak, Pedrini, Sabatier, Savora and Vasconia; tableware brands such as Mikasa, Pfaltzgraff, Creative Tops, Gorham, International Silver, Kirk Stieff, Sasaki, Towle Silversmiths, Tuttle, Wallace, Kim Parker, V&A and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew; and home solutions brands including Kamenstein, Bombay, BUILT, Debbie Meyer and Design for Living.
In 2011, Lifetime Brands acquired Creative Tops Limited and Creative Tops Far East and in 2014 it acquired Thomas Plant Limited, trading as KitchenCraft. At the time, Lifetime Brands said: ‘KitchenCraft’s broad ranges of kitchenware products fill a gap in our existing UK housewares assortment that complements the tableware and gift assortments marketed by Creative Tops.” Later that year, Lifetime acquired the business and certain assets of La Cafetière from The Greenfield Group Limited including exclusive distribution rights. The addition of the La Cafetière and Randwyck brands further strengthened its presence in the UK and Continental Europe.
Jeffrey Siegel said: “This transaction brings together two highly complementary companies and positions Lifetime with the scale, brands and capabilities to compete and win in today’s dynamic global environment.
“Filament has firmly established itself as a leader of high-end design and innovation in the branded consumer products sector. With its attractive positions in non-traditional, high-growth channels, Filament will help extend Lifetime’s reach into important new segments and create new opportunities for our business.”
He added: “Rob Kay is a seasoned executive with more than 20 years of experience in building and running companies. I look forward to working closely with Rob, and I’m confident he’s the right person to lead Lifetime upon closing to capitalise on the significant opportunities ahead.”
Rob said: “Today’s announcement is a testament to our relentless customer focus and to the hard work of our talented creative and professional teams. Together with Lifetime, with its robust sales, ecommerce, sourcing and IT infrastructure, we’ll be able to bring even more great ideas to market and drive significant value creation over the long-term.”
Lifetime Brands chairman and ceo Jeffrey Siegel
