M&A Deal Summary

Target Acquires Cooking.com

On March 14, 2013, Target acquired e-commerce company Cooking.com from Forrest Binkley and Brown and BIA Digital Partners

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Target’s 2nd transaction in the E-Commerce sector.
  • This is Target’s 4th transaction in the United States.
  • This is Target’s 2nd transaction in California.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2013-03-14
Target Cooking.com
Sector E-Commerce
Buyer(s) Target
Sellers(s) Forrest Binkley and Brown
BIA Digital Partners
Deal Type Add-on Acquisition
Advisor(s) Headwaters MB (Financial)
DLA Piper (Legal)

Target

Cooking.com

Santa Monica, California, United States
Cooking.com is an on-line retailer focused on high quality cooking related products including: cookware, tableware, cookbooks, and specialty foods. Cooking.com has over 5,000 products in addition to creative content such as articles from prominent chefs, recipes, and cooking advice.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Target

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Category Company
Founded 1902
Sector Retail
Employees450,000
Revenue 109.1B USD (2023)
DESCRIPTION
View of Target's corporate headquarters in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.
View of Target's corporate headquarters in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Target is a general merchandise retailer serving the US market. The Target brand opened its first store in 1962 and currently operates more than 1,800 stores. Target was formerly known as Dayton Hudson Corp. which was originally founded in 1902. Target is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 4 of 9
Sector (E-Commerce) 2 of 3
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 3 of 8
State (California) 2 of 5
Country (United States) 4 of 9
Year (2013) 2 of 3
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2013-03-14 CHEFS

Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States

CHEFS Catalog is a direct-to-consumer specialty retailer of top rated cookware, bake ware, cutlery, kitchen tools and cooking utensils aimed at inspiring home chefs to create delicious and new recipes.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2013-08-06 DermStore Beauty Group

Manhattan Beach, California, United States

DermStore is a skin care e-commerce site in the United States with a comprehensive portfolio of prestige and professional products. The Company was founded in 1999 by a board certified dermatologist and features over 26,000 SKUs and 750 authorized brands such as SkinMedica, SkinCeuticals, Obagi and Dermalogica. The company recently launched two additional websites, hairenvy.com and blush.com, extending its reach to cosmetics and hair care.

Buy -

Seller(S) 2

SELLER

Forrest Binkley and Brown

Irvine, California, United States
Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1993
Size Small
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Forrest Binkley & Brown (FBB) is a private equity firm focused on investing in middle-market buyouts and growth capital financings in Southern California. FBB prefers to act as the lead investor and looks to partner with management when pursuing acqusitions. Typical investments range from $2 to $6 million per transaction. Forrest Binkley & Brown was formed in 1993 and is based in California, with offices in Irvine and Solana Beach.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 12 of 14
Sector (E-Commerce) 1 of 1
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 4 of 6
State (California) 9 of 10
Country (United States) 12 of 14
Year (2013) 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2008-07-02 American Asphalt & Grading Company

North Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

American Asphalt & Grading Company provides integrated construction services to the Southern Nevada residential homebuilding market. AAG provides a suite of site development and preparation services including excavation, paving, pavement maintenance, and concrete placement for curbs, gutters and sidewalks.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2014-04-29 American Lighting Supply

San Diego, California, United States

American Lighting Supply is an energy-efficient commercial lighting specialist.

Sell USD5M
SELLER

BIA Digital Partners

Chantilly, Virginia, United States
Category Mezzanine Finance Firm
Founded 1983
PE ASSETS 283M USD
Size Middle-Market
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

BIA Digital Partners is a private investment firm focused on making junior capital investments in businesses serving the media/entertainment, telecommunications, information services, and business services sectors. The Firm has a special interest in companies generating a significant level of recurring revenue. BIA typically invests in businesses valued from $20 to $100 million and revenues $15 to $100 million. Investment proceeds are generally used to pursue organic growth opportunities, make acquisitions, fund management or leveraged buyouts, recapitlizations, and debt refinancings. BIA is licensed as a SBIC and is based in Chantilly, Virginia.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 15 of 23
Sector (E-Commerce) 1 of 1
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 8 of 10
State (California) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 15 of 23
Year (2013) 2 of 3
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2013-01-16 Allegiance Communications

Shawnee, Oklahoma, United States

Allegiance Communications LLC is a regional cable operator providing video, high-speed data and other broadband services.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2013-07-01 Cadent

New York, New York, United States

Cadent is a media services company that aggregates local cable television advertising inventory for resale to national advertisers. Cadent was founded in 2007 and is based in New York, New York.

Sell -
Mergr

Product

Company

Legal