PVH plans to buy competitor Warnaco in $2.9B deal

[October 31, 2012]  (AP) -- The PVH Corp., whose brands include Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, has agreed to buy rival clothier The Warnaco Group Inc. in a cash-and-stock deal worth about $2.9 billion that will create one of the world's largest clothing companies.

The Warnaco Group Inc. already sells Calvin Klein under a license and brands such as Speedo, Warner's and Olga.

PVH said Wednesday it will pay Warnaco shareholders $51.75 in cash and a portion of its stock for each Warnaco share. That puts the total per-share value at $68.43, a 34 percent premium over the company's closing price on Friday, the last day markets were open before storms battered the East Coast.

"This is a unique opportunity to reunite the `House of Calvin Klein' and reinforces our strategy to drive the global growth of Calvin Klein," PVH Chairman and CEO Emanuel Chirico said in a statement.

The deal is expected to close early next year, and the boards of directors for both New York-based companies have unanimously approved it.

After it closes, Warnaco shareholders will own about 10 percent of PVH's outstanding common stock. Warnaco CEO Helen McCluskey is expected to join PVH's board of directors.

PVH said it expects the deal to boost earnings in the first full year after it closes, excluding one-time integration costs and transaction expenses.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.