By Sarah Falson
ILLINOIS, USA: Salton Inc, the company behind the George Forman grill range, has confirmed its pending merger with US small appliance-maker, Applica, which is responsible for distributing the Black & Decker range in the US.
An announcement sent to the press today from the US company said that Salton, its wholly-owned subsidiary SFP Merger Sub, Inc. and APN Holding Company, Inc. “have entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby SFP Merger Sub will merge with and into APN Holding Company, the entity that acquired all of the outstanding common shares of Applica Incorporated on Jan. 23, 2007.”
In short, Applica and its subsidiaries will now become subsidiaries of Salton, which together will create one of the largest US public companies focused on household small appliances. Salton estimates that, all up, it will now be worth over $1 billion in annual sales.
It is not clear if the brands distributed by Applica in the US – including Belson professional salon products – will now be available in Australia. Salton Australia CEO, Milton Dickins, was unavailable for comment today.
In September last year, Salton Inc announced that it was looking into either a sale or a merger in light of the recent consolidation within the small appliances industry. In November, the company announced that it had entered dealings with Applica.
In a statement issued to shareholders in September, Salon – which is NYSE-listed – said it has announced the appointment of a special committee to investigate what is described as “strategic alternatives”.