M&A Deal Summary

BRS and Gordon Brothers Finance Acquire Things Remembered

On September 29, 2006, private equity firm BRS and lender Gordon Brothers Finance acquired consumer products company Things Remembered from Luxottica Group for 200M USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is BRS’s 2nd and Gordon Brothers Finance’s 2nd transaction in the Consumer Products sector.
  • This is BRS’s 3rd and Gordon Brothers Finance’s 3rd largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is BRS’s 26th and Gordon Brothers Finance’s 7th transaction in the United States.
  • This is BRS’s 3rd and Gordon Brothers Finance’s 1st transaction in Ohio.
Investment Fate
  • Things Remembered was sold to a consortium of financial buyers in 2012 for 295M USD.
  • Things Remembered was sold to a strategic buyer in 2019.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2006-09-29
Target Things Remembered
Sector Consumer Products
Buyer(s) BRS
Gordon Brothers Finance
Sellers(s) Luxottica Group
Deal Type Divestiture
Deal Value 200M USD

Target

Things Remembered

Highland Heights, Ohio, United States
website
Things Remembered is a personalized gift chain providing solutions for all gift-giving occasions through more than 650 stores across the U.S. and through its catalogs and website. The Company specializes in personalizing gifts through its engraving and monogramming technology.

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Buyer(S) 2

Buyer

BRS

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

website


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1995
PE ASSETS 1.2B USD
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

BRS is a private equity investment firm that specializes in management buyouts and recapitalizations of middle-market companies with strong market positions and growth potential. Broad areas of interest include consumer products, consumer services, food/nutrition, restaurants, retail, and distribution. BRS looks to commit $10 to $25 million per transaction. BRS was formed in 1995 and is based in New York, New York.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 27 of 47
Sector (Consumer Products) 2 of 8
Type (Divestiture) 5 of 7
State (Ohio) 3 of 4
Country (United States) 26 of 42
Year (2006) 2 of 3
Size (of disclosed) 3 of 6
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2006-07-28 Penhall

Irving, Texas, United States

Penhall is a national provider of concrete cutting, breaking and excavation and highway grinding services in the United States with the first or second market position in the majority of its served markets. Penhall has 37 branch locations in 17 states, over 800 skilled employees and an equipment fleet of 750 revenue producing units. Penhall provides a broad range of concrete- and asphalt-related services that generally are part of much larger construction projects in the non-residential building construction and infrastructure markets. Penhall was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

Sell $240M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2006-12-01 Logan s Roadhouse

Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Logan’s Roadhouse is a casual dining steakhouse headquartered in Nashville, TN. Offering mesquite wood-fire grilled steaks, signature yeast rolls and American-inspired signature favorites for over 25 years, Logan’s has 204 corporate and franchise restaurants in 22 states.

Buy -
Buyer

Gordon Brothers Finance

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

website


Category Lender
Founded 1903
PE ASSETS 500M USD
Size Middle-Market
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

GB Merchant Partners (GB) is the private investment arm of the Gordon Brothers Group. GB looks to make traditional private equity investments as well as provide structured loans and acquire secondary debt instruments. Within private equity, GB seeks investments in all segments of the consumer products and services sectors, including retail, distribution, wholesale, licensing and manufacturing. Target companies 'usually have meaningful brand equity, or a product or service that is capable of creating a leading and defensible market position'. Prospective transactions include management buyouts, growth capital financings, as well as restructurings or turnarounds. GB is based in Boston with an additional office in New York City.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 10 of 20
Sector (Consumer Products) 2 of 2
Type (Divestiture) 2 of 4
State (Ohio) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 7 of 12
Year (2006) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 3 of 3
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2005-03-17 Toys R Us

Wayne, New Jersey, United States

Toys “R” Us is a specialty toy and juvenile products retailer, selling merchandise globally through more than 1,600 stores in over 34 countries, and through the company’s websites. Toys 'R' Us was established in 1948 and is headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey.

Buy $6.6B
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2006-10-12 Red Apple Stores

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Red Apple Stores operates 140 extreme value stores throughout Canada (excluding Quebec) which serve middle-income consumers in rural secondary and tertiary markets and select urban markets. Red Apple Stores is based in Mississauga, Ontario.

Sell -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

Luxottica Group

Milan, Italy

website


Category Company
Founded 1961
Sector Consumer Products
Employees79,000
Revenue 8.8B EUR (2015)
DESCRIPTION
Luxottica's North American headquarters in Mason, Ohio.
Luxottica's North American headquarters in Mason, Ohio.

Luxottica is a global producer, distributor, and retailer of sun and prescription eyewear. Luxottica Group S.p.A. was formed in 1961 and is based in Milan, Italy.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 1
Sector (Consumer Products) 1 of 1
Type (Divestiture) 1 of 1
State (Ohio) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 1 of 1
Year (2006) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2004-10-01 Cole National

Mason, Ohio, United States

Cole National Corporation's vision business, together with Pearle franchisees, has 2,197 locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and includes Cole Managed Vision, one of the largest managed vision care benefit providers with multiple provider panels and nearly 20,000 practitioners. Cole's personalized gift business, Things Remembered, serves customers through 728 locations nationwide, catalogs, and the Internet at www.thingsremembered.com. Cole also has a 21% interest in Pearle Europe, which has 1,480 optical stores in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Sweden.

Buy $401M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2007-06-21 Oakley

Foothill Ranch, California, United States

Oakley is a global leader in sport performance optics including premium sunglasses, goggles, and prescription eyewear. Headquartered in Southern California, the company's optics brand portfolio includes Dragon, Eye Safety Systems, Fox Racing, Mosley Tribes, Oliver Peoples, and Paul Smith Spectacles. In addition to its global wholesale business, the company operates retail chains including Bright Eyes, Oakley Stores, Sunglass Icon and The Optical Shop of Aspen.

Buy $2.1B