Playtex sale
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Banana Boat marketer announces it has sold certain "non-core" brands including Baby Magic and Mr. Bubble to Cenuco, Inc. for $57 mil. in cash. "The divestiture of these brands is consistent with our strategic focus on our core categories of Feminine Care, Infant Care and Skin Care," Playtex President and CEO Neil DeFeo said in a Nov. 16 statement. Baby Magic has weighed on firm's top line growth in recent quarters, and last month the company announced plans to relaunch the brand in Q1 in an effort to revitalize the line (1"The Rose Sheet" Oct. 31, 2005, p. 7). As a result of the sale, Playtex is lowering its 2005 sales projections by approximately $6 mil., and by approximately $53 mil. on a fully annualized basis. Transaction is expected to be dilutive to net earnings by less than $0.01 per share and result in a book loss in the fourth quarter, company notes. Proceeds from the sale likely will be used to repay debt or invest in core businesses, according to Playtex...