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[August 2005]
Lenox Being Sold
Brown-Forman Corp (Louisville, KY, USA) is selling substantially all of tableware manufacturer Lenox Inc to Department 56 (Eden Prairie, MN, USA) for US$190 million.
Department 56 is a designer, distributor, wholesaler and retailer of fine quality collectables and other giftware products. Lenox, well known in the ceramic industry for its fine china, was established in 1889 and also makes crystal, collectables and giftware.
Owsley Brown II, CEO of Brown-Forman, said: "The environment for this business has been challenging for several years as evidenced by the weakness throughout the U.S. tabletop and giftware industry. We believe Department 56 is very well positioned to focus extensively on and grow this outstanding portfolio of brands".
The portion of the Lenox business being sold had sales of US$465 million for the fiscal year ending 30 April 2005. Lenox's key facilities are in Lawrenceville, NJ; Langhorne, PA; Pomona, NJ; Kinston, NC; and Hagerstown, MD. The company employs approximately 2,850 people.
It is thought that the deal will nearly quadruple Department 56's sales which, in its most recent fiscal year, were around US$165 million. The deal should be closed by the end of the company's third quarter and it said it expected to retain the existing Lenox management team.
ENDS