House & Home
House and Home
House and Home 
Mon, March 28, 2011
Summer Infant, Inc. Announces Acquisition of BornFree
WOONSOCKET, RI--(Marketwire - March 28, 2011) - Summer Infant, Inc. ("Summer Infant" or the "Company") (
Jason Macari, President and Chief Executive Officer of Summer Infant, commented: "BornFree is a great strategic fit with our Company for several reasons. Summer Infant is now entering into the $1 billion dollar worldwide feeding category which also realizes higher than average margins. Summer Infant's product development expertise, when combined with BornFree's premium product offering and brand positioning, affords the Company a solid platform for growth. The acquisition aligns well with the markets the Company currently services both domestically and abroad, as well as provides synergy for additional expansion into new channels -- such as food and drug. Financially, we project the acquisition will be slightly accretive in 2011 excluding deal fees and transition costs. Lastly, the BornFree brand and feeding product category will solidify Summer Infant's position with prenatal moms -- our core target market -- as well as our reach and add additional relevancy to this key consumer group."
The total purchase price for the acquisition was funded through a combination of Summer Infant stock and debt obtained through an amended loan deal with existing lenders that gives the Company up to $80 million of borrowing capacity, with an additional $20 million available beginning in October 2011 under an "accordion" feature. Furthermore, the former owners of BornFree may receive additional payments if certain financial targets are achieved over the next twelve months. Roth Capital Partners served as the exclusive financial advisor to BornFree.
About Summer Infant, Inc.
Based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the Company is a designer, marketer and distributor of branded durable juvenile health, safety and wellness products (for ages 0-3 years), which are sold principally to large U.S. retailers. The Company currently sells proprietary products in a number of different categories, including nursery audio/video monitors, safety gates, durable bath products, bed rails, nursery products, booster and potty seats, infant bedding, bouncers, travel accessories, highchairs, swings and nursery furniture. For additional information, please visit [ www.summerinfant.com ].
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this release that are not historical fact may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and the Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbor created thereby. These statements include statements regarding the expected accretion and synergies resulting from the acquisition of BornFree and our ability to expand upon and grow BornFree's business. The Company cautions that these statements are qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include our ability to successfully integrate BornFree into the Company's operations, our ability to retain key employees of the Company, and other risks as detailed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information contained in this release.