Garden City, N.Y.-based Lifetime Brands Inc. has acquired Thomas Plant Limited, trading as Kitchen Craft. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Thomas Plant, based in Birmingham, is one of the United Kingdom’s leading suppliers of kitchenware products and accessories, selling under well-known proprietary, customer-exclusive and private-label brands. The company supplies more than 2,600 customers in all classes of trade in the U.K. and in more than 70 countries worldwide.
As part of the Lifetime Brands platform, the company will operate as a separate division under the continuing leadership of Andrew Plant, Richard Plant and Peter Bushell.
“We are impressed by the commitment and passion of Kitchen Craft’s management, which has fostered a culture of quality, innovation and outstanding customer service that is very similar to our own,” said Jeffrey Siegel, Lifetime Brands’ chairman and CEO. “The acquisition of Thomas Plant represents a compelling opportunity for Lifetime that will accelerate our growth and make Lifetime a more effective global resource to our key retailer partners. Kitchen Craft’s broad ranges of kitchenware products fill a gap in our existing U.K. housewares assortment that will complement the tableware and gift assortments marketed by Creative Tops.”
For its fiscal year ended May 27, 2013, Thomas Plant posted net revenues of approximately $70 million.
Lifetime expects the acquisition to be accretive to its diluted earnings per share beginning in 2014.
In connection with the acquisition, Lifetime amended and extended its revolving credit facility, and entered into a new term loan agreement. The proceeds of the new term loan, together with borrowings under the revolving credit facility, were used to fund the cash portion of the purchase price and to repay the outstanding balance of the company’s existing term loan.
“Kitchen Craft’s gross profit and EBITDA margins will enhance Lifetime’s overall margins and help to support investments and drive profitability across Lifetime’s product categories,” Siegel said.
The addition of Kitchen Craft to Lifetime’s global platform – which includes Creative Tops Ltd., its U.K. tableware and accessories business; Lifetime Brands Canada, Grupo Vasconia SAB and GS Internacional S/A, its partner companies in Canada, Mexico and Brazil; and joint venture companies in Asia – expands Lifetime Brands’ global reach.
“This is a milestone for our 164-year-old business, which is known for its portfolio of iconic kitchenware brands and its deeply loyal customer base,” said Andrew Plant, Kitchen Craft’s managing director. “The acquisition provides us with the resources and scale necessary to drive our future success, and will further strengthen our existing product development, sourcing and distribution capabilities.”
