Kay jewelers parent Signet to buy Zale Corp. for $1.4 billion
Zale Corp. and Signet Jewelers — two big rivals in the mall-based jewelry business — said today they have agreed to merge.
Signet, which operates the Kay and Jared chains, will pay $21 a share for Irving-based Zale. Signet’s offer, valued at $1.4 billion, is 41 percent above Zale’s closing price of $14.91 on Monday.
The combined companies will have annual sales of $6.2 billion and 3,600 stores. The jewelry business is still very fragmented in the U.S. Excluding acquisition costs, the combined companies are expected to be profitable in the first year.
Signet’s retired CEO Terry Burman joined Zale’s board last May as chairman. He tried to merge the companies once before in the mid-2000s. Golden Gate Capital, which provided Zale with badly needed cash during a few years ago, is on board with the deal.
More at http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2014/02/zales-and-kay-jewelers-agree-to-merge.html/ .
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