OroAmerica in Early Talks to Buy 2 Rivals

OroAmerica Inc., the largest maker of gold jewelry, is in preliminary negotiations to acquire two closely held rivals with total sales of about $100 million, its chief executive said. The Burbank-based company, which made an unsuccessful bid in February to buy No. 2 gold-jewelry maker Michael Anthony Jewelers Inc. for about $43 million, will use about $30 million in cash to finance the acquisitions, said CEO Guy Benhamou. He declined to name the potential targets. OroAmerica is in talks to buy one company with about $60 million in annual sales and another with revenue of $40 million, said Benhamou, who is also the company’s chairman and president. OroAmerica, which sells gold jewelry to large retailers such as Kmart Corp., J.C. Penney Co. and Federated Department Stores Inc., had $174.5 million in sales in the year ended Jan. 30. Shares of OroAmerica, which have lost 42% in the last year, rose 13 cents to close at $7.06 on Nasdaq.