VF’s Acquisition of Vans Made Official
One of the nation’s denim kings can now add shoes to a closet also brimming with backpacks and bras.
Shareholders of Vans Inc., the California shoemaker, voted Wednesday in favor of being acquired by VF Corp. for $396 million, or $20.55 a share. More than 99% of votes cast endorsed selling to Greensboro, N.C.-based VF, the nation’s largest publicly held apparel company.
Vans will keep its Santa Fe Springs headquarters and will shed few of its roughly 1,600 employees, many in California. Steve Murray, Vans’ international senior vice president, will become president of the Vans unit.
Vans’ chairman, Walter E. Schoenfeld, 73, and its chief executive, his son, Gary, 41, will leave Vans. The younger Schoenfeld said he was leaving behind a “worldwide brand that millions of young people passionately identify with.” He said he didn’t know what he would do next.
During the Schoenfelds’ reign, the company’s value skyrocketed, and tumbled, as it rode the skateboarding trend. In the late 1990s, it ran into trouble opening for-profit skate parks that were eclipsed by free public parks.
Vans is the latest name-brand purchase for VF as it works to expand its denim roots and tap a younger consumer. Last month, it acquired Kipling, a European bag company known for its walking-monkey logo. Last year, VF added Nautica Enterprises Inc. to a diversified roster that includes North Face Inc., Vanity Fair bras and Lee, Gitano, Wrangler and Chic jeans
Vans will let VF step into footwear. The company plans to grow Vans beyond its young-male skater focus by expanding sportswear and launching “performance snowboard” apparel. It expects Vans’ sales to reach $500 million in three to five years.
The elder Schoenfeld said Vans would fit well with a large company where it can “set its own parameters.”
“This is a great combination that will only make this name better going into the future,” he said.
Vans shares closed at $20.55, up a penny, on Nasdaq. VF slid 30 cents to $48.70 on the New York Stock Exchange. Before the deal was announced in April, Vans traded at $15.81.
