US. AT Cross Company has signed an all-cash transaction to purchase Native Eyewear Inc, a leading supplier of sunglasses and goggles.
Native Eyewear designs and markets a branded line of All Sports All Polarized sports performance sunglasses and goggles called Native, which are distributed throughout the US under the Native Eyewear brand. They retail from US$100 to US$150.
Native will become part of AT Cross’ Optical Group Segment, which comprises the premium-priced polarised Costa Del Mar brand, which Cross acquired in 2003. At that time, Costa had revenues of US$11 million; in 2007, its revenues had grown to US$37 million.
AT Cross purchased Native Eyewear for US$17.8 million in cash and the assumption of about US$1 million of short-term debt. In 2007, Native had revenues of approximately US$11 million. The deal is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings per share.
The acquisition is in line with Cross’s stated strategy to acquire and operate multiple authentic sports performance sunglasses brands and to manage each brand within the sports category where the brand has roots.
Costa Del Mar’s roots are in marine sports, particularly fishing, while Native’s USP lies in the outdoor and mountain sports categories where it has been very successful in establishing an important niche, according to Cross.
Recently, Native introduced its first line of Interchangeable Polarized Snow Goggles, which are set to hit retail stores in September 2008.
Speaking about the acquisition of Native Eyewear, AT Cross President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Whalen concluded: “As we incorporate Native into our family of brands and products, we believe that there is a great opportunity to leverage our operations and their market presence to create another strong business under the Cross umbrella.”
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