To buy Harry & David for cash and fund ongoing operations, 1-800-Flowers has obtained a $342.5 million line of credit from a group of banks led by JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

1-800-Flowers.com Inc. has completed its purchase of Harry and David Inc. And in a filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, 1-800-Flowers, No. 65 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide provides more detail on how the combined company will operate—and how the deal will be funded.

In September, 1-800-Flowers.com announced it was acquiring Harry & David (No. 144) for $142.5 million in cash. To get the cash to close the deal and to fund expanded ongoing operations 1-800-Flowers has obtained a $342.5 million line of credit from a group of banks led by JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. and Wells Fargo Bank N.A. About $200 million of that line of credit will be used to fund ongoing operations, according to I-800-Flowers.

With the deal now closed, the merged company will have annual web sales of about $724 million and about $1.1 billion in total sales. “The acquisition of Harry & David will increase our revenues in the gourmet food gift space to nearly $650 million, making us a leading player in this growing, multibillion dollar category,” says 1-800-Flowers CEO Jim McCann.

Going forward the Harry & David portion of the business will account for between 46% and 50% of all 1-800-Flowers revenue, McCann says. For the 2014 fiscal year ended June 29, 1-800-Flowers reported total sales of $756.3 million, up 2.8% from $735.5 million in fiscal 2013. E-commerce sales reached $549.0 million, up 2.3% from $536.6 million in fiscal 2013. Harry & David generated total revenue of about $380 million in its fiscal 2013, according to the regulatory filing. Internet Retailer estimates Harry & David generated web sales of $185.7 million in 2013, up 8.0% from $171.9 million in 2012.

For now Harry & David’s existing management staff, including CEO Craig Johnson, will continue to run the company. The merger includes all of Harry & David’s brands and web sites, as well as its headquarters, manufacturing and distribution facilities, a warehouse and distribution facility in Hebron, OH, and 47 Harry & David retail stores. 1-800-Flowers plans to run Harry & David as a subsidiary. “This combination will propel our total annual revenues to more than $1.1 billion and offers numerous opportunities to accelerate our top- and bottom-line growth going forward,” McCann says.

advertisement

 

Favorite