A&R Whitcoulls to acquire Borders assets
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A&R Whitcoulls Group Holdings Pty Limited (ARW010) | 8:24 am, Friday 6 June 2008
A&R Whitcoulls to acquire Borders assets in Australia, New Zealand and
Singapore
Key facts
- A&R Whitcoulls will acquire the Borders assets and the use of the
Borders trade marks in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore
- Total transaction valued at up to A$110 million
- The proposed acquisition has already received approval from the ACCC
and NZCC
A&R Whitcoulls Group Holdings (NZX: ARW; "A&R Whitcoulls Group") today
entered into an agreement with Borders Group Inc ("Borders Group") for the
acquisition of 30 Borders Stores in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
Under the agreement, A&R Whitcoulls Group will gain exclusive rights to use
the Borders trademarks in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
The transaction has been approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission ("ACCC") and the New Zealand Commerce Commission ("NZCC").
A&R Whitcoulls Group Managing Director, Ian Draper, said that the Borders
business is complementary to the Company's existing assets, offering a
different format from Angus & Robertson in Australia and Whitcoulls in New
Zealand.
"Borders' experience-based model invites customers to browse books,
magazines, music and DVDs, with cafes in most stores. It's a model which has
proven popular in the local market, and targets a different demographic with
its premium format and wide range of products."
The transaction is valued at up to A$110 million and is expected to be
finalised early next week.
"The acquisition creates a strategic footprint for the group which comprises
different formats and provides a foundation for growth and innovation. We
are pleased to bring these businesses together and excited about the
opportunities presented by this transaction," said Mr Draper.
"The combined experience, skills and scale of the enlarged Group will create
a platform for an expanded and more diverse customer offering across a number
of strong brands. The Borders management team have a demonstrated track
record of innovation and will be able to make a valuable contribution to the
development of the broader group"
The existing Borders management will remain in place following the
transaction. Borders' Managing Director, John Campradt was upbeat about the
deal. "It has been an exciting few years building the Borders brand in
Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. This transaction will bring to the
local business scale and technology support which will enable us to take
things to a new level."
A&R Whitcoulls Group currently owns and operates: Australia's oldest
bookstore chain, Angus & Robertson; popular New Zealand book, magazine and
DVD retailer Whitcoulls; a newsagency franchise chain called Supanews; and a
seasonal 'pop up' retailer Calendar Club.
A&R Whitcoulls Group has been focused on growing its presence in the book
retailing markets in both Australia and New Zealand over the past year
through the expansion of its online offering to compete with international
players such as Amazon. It has also developed a new loyalty program in the
New Zealand market which has recently been launched in Australia.
"Increasing our presence and making a wide range of books and other popular
forms of entertainment accessible to a wide range of people continues to be
our focus," Mr Draper said. "We are looking forward to working with the
Borders team on the continued expansion of A&R Whitcoulls/Borders group of
businesses."
For further information call:
Lauren Thompson
FD Third Person
T: +61 2 8298 6100
M: +61 438 954 729
E: lauren@fdthirdperson.com.au
About A&R Whitcoulls
A&R Whitcoulls is a leading book and stationery retailer in Australia and New
Zealand. A&R Whitcoulls currently operates four divisions:
- Whitcoulls - A nationwide book and stationery chain with the largest
share of the New Zealand market. Within the Whitcoulls division, Bennetts
Tertiary sells textbooks and related course materials to students and other
campus users.
- Calendar Club - A chain of specialty calendar stores which operate
over the Christmas period (October to January) in major shopping centres and
other key retail precincts in both Australia and New Zealand.
- Angus & Robertson - A nationwide bookstore chain with the largest
market share in Australia.
- Supanews - A joint venture business that operates newsagencies in
Australia.
The Whitcoulls and Angus & Robertson brands are well known and established in
their respective markets and have histories dating back over 100 years.
Pacific Equity Partners acquired the Group from the UK retailer, WH Smith, in
May 2004.
About PEP
PEP is the most active private equity fund in Australia and New Zealand,
providing strategic management experience and capital resources to grow
companies in a range of business situations. PEP Fund IV is the largest
private equity fund in Australia and the firm has over $6.0 billion of equity
funds under management. Since its establishment in 1998, PEP has made 18
portfolio company acquisitions and more than 20 add-on acquisitions at the
company level.
PEP currently has 13 companies in its portfolio with combined revenues in
excess of $3 billion per annum, spanning industries including food, liquor,
technology, financial record-keeping and retail trade. Recent PEP investments
include:
- American Stock Transfer & Trust (AST) - The largest independent share
registry in the US by issuer number.
- Hoyts Group - A leading cinema exhibitor and advertiser in Australia
and New Zealand.
- Veda Advantage - The leading provider of business and financial
intelligence services through the use of financial record-keeping, analytics
and technology.
- Independent Liquor - A leading manufacturer and distributor of
alcoholic beverages in Australia and New Zealand, with a particular focus in
the ready-to-drink (RTD) category.
- Australian Administration Services (AAS) - A provider of
administration services to the superannuation and retail master trust
industries. AAS has been merged with Link Market Services, a share registrar
and analytic business also owned by PEP.
Detailed information about PEP's entire portfolio and its exited investments
can be found at www.pep.com.au.
