VF To Buy Timberland For $2 Billion Cash, A 43% Premium

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Source: The Wall Street Journal.

By Melissa Korn

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--VF Corp. (VFC), whose brands include Wrangler denim and Nautica apparel, agreed to buy footwear company Timberland Co. (TBL) for about $2 billion, taking advantage of Timberland's beaten-down stock price to boost its outdoor and action sports businesses.

VF's offer of $43 a share represents a premium of 43% to Friday's close. Shares of Timberland, which specializes in boots and outdoor apparel, traded above the offer price as recently as late April, but a disappointing first-quarter report last month sent the stock tumbling.

Investors welcomed the deal, pushing Timberland shares up to $42.72, just below the asking price, in recent trading. VF shares gained 12.6% to $103.38.

The companies expect to close the deal late in the third quarter. Timberland is expected to add about $700 million to VF's 2011 revenue and boost per-share earnings by 45 cents in the second half of 2011 and by 90 cents in 2012, excluding acquisition-related expenses.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110613-706722.html