Israeli underwear company Delta Galil Industries Ltd. (Pink Sheet: DELTY; TASE: DELT), managed by controlling shareholder Isaac Dabah, has signed an option agreement for the acquisition of French group Eminence for €125 million. The acquisition is to include French brands Eminence and Athena, Italian clothing brand Liabel, and a number of subsidiaries in Europe.
Eminence is an upmarket French brand of underwear, while Athena appeals mainly to the mass market. Liabel is a veteran Italian brand dating back to 1851 that makes trichot shirts and underwear for the whole family.
Eminence's sales totaled €99 million in 2017, of which 87% was for men, 8% for women, and 5% for children and babies. 79% of its sales were in the French market and the rest in other Western European countries, mostly Italy (17%) and Belgium (3%).
The group currently has 755 employees: 500 in France, 195 in a plant in Romania, and 60 in Italy. The group's headquarters and development, design, and logistics centers are in France.
Delta Galil believes that if the deal is completed (probably in the third quarter this year, subject to suspending conditions and various approvals) it will add €100 million to the group's sales, bringing them to over $1.5 billion annually. The contribution to profit per share is projected to amount to $0.40-0.45.
Delta Galil develops, manufactures, markets, and sells underwear, socks, children's clothing, leisure wear, and sports and fitness wear. It sells its products in prominent retail chains worldwide under various brands.
This is Delta Galil's second acquisition for more than $100 million in less than two years. The first was the June 2016 acquisition of US company VF Corporation, which has three brands of jeans (For All Mankind 7) and upper body wear for women and children (Splendid and Ella Moss), for $120 million.
Dabah said today, "This is an extremely good deal for us that reflects our efforts to expand the group's branded activity and strengthen our presence in Europe and in the men's category. We regard the deal as a platform that will enable us to achieve growth in sales of Delta Galil products in the women's, activewear, and socks to new customers in markets where we have had no previous activity."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 6, 2018
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