Carter’s, Inc. Acquires Skip Hop Holdings, Inc.
Staff Report From Metro Atlanta CEO
Friday, February 24th, 2017
Carter’s, Inc., the largest branded marketer in the United States and Canada of apparel exclusively for babies and young children, announced that it has acquired Skip Hop Holdings, Inc., a global lifestyle brand for families with young children, from Fireman Capital Partners, a consumer-focused private equity firm.
Skip Hop offers families with young children essential products that are differentiated from a design and function perspective. Its product portfolio includes distinctive offerings across multiple categories, including diaper bags, kid’s backpacks, travel accessories, home gear, and hardlines for playtime, mealtime, and bathtime. Skip Hop products are distributed in more than 5,000 doors in the United States and more than 60 countries.
“Skip Hop has built a strong reputation for innovative, essential core products for families with young children,” said Michael D. Casey, Carter’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Its product offering nicely complements our Carter’s brand. We believe we have a wonderful opportunity to leverage our marketing, distribution, and supply chain capabilities to enable significant growth for the Skip Hop brand. We look forward to working with Skip Hop founders, Michael and Ellen Diamant, and their team to build on their long track record of success.”
The acquisition of Skip Hop is expected to be accretive to Carter’s fiscal 2017 adjusted earnings per share, excluding the impact of non-recurring transaction or integration-related expenses.
“We are very excited to join the Carter’s team,” said Michael and Ellen Diamant, founders of Skip Hop. “We believe Carter’s is a terrific cultural fit for Skip Hop, and we look forward to working with Carter’s to drive Skip Hop to its full potential.”
The transaction has been structured as an acquisition of all of the outstanding equity of Skip Hop. The total purchase price is $140 million in cash consideration, subject to a working capital adjustment, plus a potential future payment of up to $10 million contingent upon the achievement of certain fiscal targets in 2017.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as financial advisor and King & Spalding LLP acted as legal counsel to Carter’s in connection with the transaction. Harris Williams & Co. served as exclusive financial advisor and McDermott Will & Emery LLP acted as legal advisor to Skip Hop.