Buyout Firm Acquires Potpourri for $188M
Buyout firm American Capital Strategies Ltd. acquired DMer Potpourri Group Inc. for $188 million, investment bank Goldsmith Agio Helms said yesterday.Goldsmith helped facilitate the sale to American, Bethesda, MD.
Potpourri was sold by private equity firm Linsalata Capital Partners, which acquired the brand in 2002, then bought and integrated five catalog companies comprised of nine titles in the interim.
"We plan to accelerate that growth through an aggressive acquisition strategy," American Capital regional managing director Brian Graff said in a statement. "We also believe that many of the company's existing titles, such as Catalog Favorites, Potpourri, Northstyle and Expressions, have tremendous organic growth opportunities. Potpourri's low-cost, efficient infrastructure is an excellent platform upon which to build a premier direct marketing company."
Potpourri, Chelmsford, MA, markets personal gifts, home dŽcor and casual apparel via 12 catalog titles. Its target audience is women ages 40-65 in the middle- to upper-middle-income bracket. The company's estimated net sales for the fiscal year ended March 2005 are $160.6 million.
