Today, Superior Uniform Group, Inc. announced that its division, BAMKO (PPAI 242148), has acquired substantially all the assets of distributor Tangerine Promotions, Ltd. (PPAI 439779) and Tangerine Promotions West, Inc., including the assumption of certain liabilities. The deal will close on December 1.
The purchase price is subject to adjustment and consists of approximately $7.2 million in cash, the issuance of approximately $2 million of Superior Uniform Group’s common stock that will vest over a four-year period, the potential future payment of $5.5 million in additional contingent consideration through 2021, and the assumption of certain liabilities.
Tangerine, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, serves some of the most well-known brands in the world and is one of the leading providers of point-of-purchase (POP) displays and point-of-sale (POS) merchandise. Tangerine’s revenues for the year ending December 31 are projected to be approximately $36 million.
The deal has been in the works for the past several months and is the second acquisition by BAMKO this year; the distributor acquired Los Angeles, California-based Public Identity in August.
“The acquisition of Tangerine by BAMKO represents an incredible leap forward in the evolution of our company,” says Philip Koosed, president of BAMKO. “Steve Friedman and his team at Tangerine have built one of the elite companies in our industry. Their extraordinary roster of clients and exceptional capabilities in account management, POP displays, POS merchandise, and custom products is unrivaled in our industry.”
Friedman, president of Tangerine, adds, “If one thing has become clear during this process, it’s that something very special is going on at BAMKO. They are building something that is decidedly unique in our industry, and we want to help build it. As we went through this process, we took inventory of our respective strengths and weaknesses. We quickly came to realize that we had an incredible opportunity to combine those strengths and become a disruptive force in our industry.”
The purchase sets the company on a path for more potential acquisitions in 2018. “We want to make sure we do it right,” Jake Himelstein, BAMKO chief financial officer, told PPB Newslink in an exclusive interview. “We are not going to rush into anything but will look at our opportunities and see what fits in well with us. We are not looking to acquire revenue for the sake of acquiring revenue. Instead, we are looking to bring on partners that are beneficial to us—that complement us, whether it’s the geographic region, a line of business or in some other way. Tangerine has a real strength in POS and POP and packaging, and that gives us an immediate strength in those areas. We are looking for more opportunities that open up new doors, like the Tangerine acquisition has done.”
Joshua White, BAMKO’s general counsel and SVP strategic partnerships, further explains, “We are looking for strategic alliances. Our goal is to be the best company in the promotional products industry. One of the ways we intend to get there is to partner with companies that have their own unique areas of expertise.”
Both BAMKO and Tangerine Promotions were named to PPB’s 2017 Greatest Companies To Work For. “Tangerine is culturally cut from a very similar cloth as BAMKO,” adds White. “We want people who are committed to creating an engaging and enriching workplace.”
Tangerine will continue to serve its customers from existing locations in Chicago, Los Angeles and Orange County, California, and will operate as a division of BAMKO.
Tangerine principals Friedman and Adam Rosenbaum will remain with the business and will continue to lead the Tangerine Division. Rosenbaum also will take on a management role with BAMKO. No employee changes in either company are expected. Conversely, the company’s combined growth is expected to enable it to hire more workers in 2018.
