The Billionaire who thinks out of the box: 2 PF deals
Mar 19, 2019 21:43:50 GMT
c2crusher, drangled, and 3 more like this
Post by miamianne67 on Mar 19, 2019 21:43:50 GMT
I've lived a lot of my DD with Dr. Frost and I had almost forgotten these deals until dnr08 posted something in the shout box. I find these deals fascinating and demonstrative of Dr. Frost's amazing acumen.
Ivax buys Flori Roberts (consumer skin prods.) for $20M
Jul 1992
Executive Summary
Ivax acquired Flori Roberts (formulates, packages and markets consumer skin-care products and cosmetics) for $20 million ($15 million in cash and $5 million in 203,044 shares of Ivax stock).
DEAL INDUSTRY
Pharmaceuticals
DEAL STATUS
Final
DEAL TYPE
Acquisition
Full Acquisition
Payment Includes Cash
Payment Includes Stock
Flori Roberts is a pioneering line of skin care products for women of color.
New York Times
A Leader in Black Business, Johnson Products, to Be Sold
By BARNABY J. FEDERJUNE 15, 1993
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About the Archive
This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.
Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems. Please send reports of such problems to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.
The article as it originally appeared.
VIEW PAGE IN TIMESMACHINE
June 15, 1993, Page 00001
The New York Times Archives
The Johnson Products Company, whose portfolio of grooming and cosmetic products for minority consumers has made it one of the nation's largest black-owned businesses, will be acquired in a stock swap with the IVAX Corporation, the two companies announced today.
The deal could range in value from $61 million to $73 million depending on share prices of the two firms prior to the closing.
Johnson, based in Chicago, dominated the market for personal care products for blacks during the 1960's and 1970's with Ultra Sheen and Gentle Treatment hair care products and related lines. It became the first black-owned company listed on the American Stock Exchange. But Johnson's position eroded as larger companies like Revlon Inc. and Avon Products and upstarts like Soft Sheen Products Inc. attacked the market, now estimated at $1.5 billion.
Johnson's sales rode a roller coaster in the late 1970's and 1980's, bouncing between about $45 million and $29 million. The company fell behind in product development and lost money in an effort to set up manufacturing in Nigeria. More recently, sales have risen and the company has regained profitability. But it has been rocked by feuds within the Johnson family.
But Johnson's stock soared about 25 percent this spring on rumors that the company might be sold. At the time, Joan B. Johnson, the chairman and chief executive, denied the rumors and said that the company was looking for acquisitions.
Continue reading the main story
"It's been a resilient little company that taught a lot of us how to be entrepreneurs," said Lafayette Jones, president and chief executive of Segmented Marketing Services Inc., a marketing firm based in Winston-Salem, N.C. "It'll be missed," added Mr. Jones, who was the vice president of marketing and sales at Johnson from 1979 to 1981.
IVAX, a Miami-based pharmaceutical company with chemical, skin care, medical diagnostics and veterinary businesses, has grown rapidly through acquisitions in recent years. In the most recent quarter, ending March 31, IVAX showed net income of $16.4 million on sales of $128 million.
"It is an excellent fit with Flori Roberts Inc., our cosmetics and skin care subsidiary, which also focuses parts of its business on African-American consumers, and with Baker Cummins Dermatologicals, our dermatological and skin care company, which markets an established line of medicated shampoos, conditioners, and other skin care products," said Dr. Phillip Frost, the chairman and chief executive of IVAX.
In trading today on the American Stock Exchange, Johnson shares soared $5.625, to $24.625, a new 52-week high. IVAX shares were unchanged at $25.25.
"This is a terrific deal for IVAX," said Ronald Nordmann, an analyst who follows the company for Paine Webber. "It fits their strategy of trying to dominate niche businesses while growing the drug operations."
The two companies said Johnson would continue to operate as an independent subsidiary and Mrs. Johnson, who is 64, would lead it with the title of president.
Dr. Frost, a dermatologist, said the manufacturing of some Flori Roberts products would move to Johnson's Chicago plant.
Dr. Frost also said he and the Johnsons had discussed the political implications of IVAX acquiring one of the nation's leading symbols of black enterprise. "We will continue everything they are doing and raise the level of commitment to the black community," he said.
Mrs. Johnson said: "This transaction will benefit our stockholders, employees and community. All of us in Johnson Products' management look forward to working with IVAX." Family Struggles for Control
Mrs. Johnson controls more than half of Johnson's shares as a result of a 1989 divorce settlement with George E. Johnson, who had run the company from its founding in 1954 until the marital split. She ousted her son, Eric, from leadership last year after he refused to share power with his sister, Joan M. Johnson.
Eric Johnson, who then became head of a private ice cream company here, was widely credited with setting the company back on the road to prosperity during his tenure. He became the center of controversy in 1991 when he tried to organize a $20.6 million leveraged buyout.
Sales continued to grow under his mother, who had been treasurer during the years her ex-husband ran the company. Johnson netted $1.2 million on sales of $10.5 million in the quarter that ended Feb. 28. In Johnson's last fiscal year, which ended on Aug. 31, total sales were $42 million.
George Johnson could not be reached for comment. Eric Johnson did not return phone calls.
Ivax buys Flori Roberts (consumer skin prods.) for $20M
Jul 1992
Executive Summary
Ivax acquired Flori Roberts (formulates, packages and markets consumer skin-care products and cosmetics) for $20 million ($15 million in cash and $5 million in 203,044 shares of Ivax stock).
DEAL INDUSTRY
Pharmaceuticals
DEAL STATUS
Final
DEAL TYPE
Acquisition
Full Acquisition
Payment Includes Cash
Payment Includes Stock
Flori Roberts is a pioneering line of skin care products for women of color.
New York Times
A Leader in Black Business, Johnson Products, to Be Sold
By BARNABY J. FEDERJUNE 15, 1993
Continue reading the main storyShare This Page
Share
Tweet
More
Save
About the Archive
This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.
Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems. Please send reports of such problems to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.
The article as it originally appeared.
VIEW PAGE IN TIMESMACHINE
June 15, 1993, Page 00001
The New York Times Archives
The Johnson Products Company, whose portfolio of grooming and cosmetic products for minority consumers has made it one of the nation's largest black-owned businesses, will be acquired in a stock swap with the IVAX Corporation, the two companies announced today.
The deal could range in value from $61 million to $73 million depending on share prices of the two firms prior to the closing.
Johnson, based in Chicago, dominated the market for personal care products for blacks during the 1960's and 1970's with Ultra Sheen and Gentle Treatment hair care products and related lines. It became the first black-owned company listed on the American Stock Exchange. But Johnson's position eroded as larger companies like Revlon Inc. and Avon Products and upstarts like Soft Sheen Products Inc. attacked the market, now estimated at $1.5 billion.
Johnson's sales rode a roller coaster in the late 1970's and 1980's, bouncing between about $45 million and $29 million. The company fell behind in product development and lost money in an effort to set up manufacturing in Nigeria. More recently, sales have risen and the company has regained profitability. But it has been rocked by feuds within the Johnson family.
But Johnson's stock soared about 25 percent this spring on rumors that the company might be sold. At the time, Joan B. Johnson, the chairman and chief executive, denied the rumors and said that the company was looking for acquisitions.
Continue reading the main story
"It's been a resilient little company that taught a lot of us how to be entrepreneurs," said Lafayette Jones, president and chief executive of Segmented Marketing Services Inc., a marketing firm based in Winston-Salem, N.C. "It'll be missed," added Mr. Jones, who was the vice president of marketing and sales at Johnson from 1979 to 1981.
IVAX, a Miami-based pharmaceutical company with chemical, skin care, medical diagnostics and veterinary businesses, has grown rapidly through acquisitions in recent years. In the most recent quarter, ending March 31, IVAX showed net income of $16.4 million on sales of $128 million.
"It is an excellent fit with Flori Roberts Inc., our cosmetics and skin care subsidiary, which also focuses parts of its business on African-American consumers, and with Baker Cummins Dermatologicals, our dermatological and skin care company, which markets an established line of medicated shampoos, conditioners, and other skin care products," said Dr. Phillip Frost, the chairman and chief executive of IVAX.
In trading today on the American Stock Exchange, Johnson shares soared $5.625, to $24.625, a new 52-week high. IVAX shares were unchanged at $25.25.
"This is a terrific deal for IVAX," said Ronald Nordmann, an analyst who follows the company for Paine Webber. "It fits their strategy of trying to dominate niche businesses while growing the drug operations."
The two companies said Johnson would continue to operate as an independent subsidiary and Mrs. Johnson, who is 64, would lead it with the title of president.
Dr. Frost, a dermatologist, said the manufacturing of some Flori Roberts products would move to Johnson's Chicago plant.
Dr. Frost also said he and the Johnsons had discussed the political implications of IVAX acquiring one of the nation's leading symbols of black enterprise. "We will continue everything they are doing and raise the level of commitment to the black community," he said.
Mrs. Johnson said: "This transaction will benefit our stockholders, employees and community. All of us in Johnson Products' management look forward to working with IVAX." Family Struggles for Control
Mrs. Johnson controls more than half of Johnson's shares as a result of a 1989 divorce settlement with George E. Johnson, who had run the company from its founding in 1954 until the marital split. She ousted her son, Eric, from leadership last year after he refused to share power with his sister, Joan M. Johnson.
Eric Johnson, who then became head of a private ice cream company here, was widely credited with setting the company back on the road to prosperity during his tenure. He became the center of controversy in 1991 when he tried to organize a $20.6 million leveraged buyout.
Sales continued to grow under his mother, who had been treasurer during the years her ex-husband ran the company. Johnson netted $1.2 million on sales of $10.5 million in the quarter that ended Feb. 28. In Johnson's last fiscal year, which ended on Aug. 31, total sales were $42 million.
George Johnson could not be reached for comment. Eric Johnson did not return phone calls.