Vans Planning 2.6-Million-Share Offering

Sneaker maker Vans Inc., after settling a lawsuit two weeks ago over last summer’s closing of its aging plant in Orange, filed documents with regulators Friday to offer 2.6 million shares of common stock to the public.

Among the shares to be offered are 100,000 shares owned by Walter E. Schoenfeld, the company’s president, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company was closed Friday, and executives could not be reached for comment on how much they hope to raise in the offering. The proceeds will be used for debt repayment and for general purposes, the SEC filing said. The company listed no date for the offering.

After the offering, the company will have about 12.4 million shares outstanding.

Vans closed its plant in Orange last year, putting nearly 1,000 people out of work. The company, which shifted its domestic work to a newer plant in Vista, in San Diego County, linked the plant closing to consumer demand for products that it acquires from overseas producers.

Vans took a $36.3-million charge for plant closing and restructuring expenses in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended last May 31, and lost $37.1 million for fiscal 1995.

Since then, however, the company has been on the mend. Its $2.6-million profit for the first nine months of its fiscal year ended Feb. 24 was 44% higher than earnings in the same period the previous year.

Two weeks ago, the company agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by investors who alleged that they were defrauded in the corporate restructuring. The amount of the settlement, which must be approved by the court, was not disclosed. Vans said that its insurer will pay the entire amount.