Barnes & Thornburg announced today that the firm represented Wolverine World Wide Inc., one of the world’s leading marketers of branded casual, active lifestyle, work, outdoor sport and uniform footwear and apparel, in the negotiation and execution of a $2 billion agreement to acquire Collective Brands, Inc. In making its bid, Wolverine joined with San Francisco-based private equity firms Golden Gate Capital and Blum Capital Partners.
“This acquisition is a significant milestone for Wolverine World Wide and offers the company tremendous opportunity for growth,” said Tracy Larsen, managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg’s Grand Rapids office and lead legal advisor for Wolverine World Wide on the transaction. “The transaction perfectly complements Wolverine’s strategic priorities, and we look forward to working with Wolverine through the deal’s completion.”
Upon close of the deal, Collective Brands will be split up, with Wolverine acquiring its Performance + Lifestyle Group, which consists of the Sperry Top-Sider®, Saucony®, Stride Rite® and Keds® brands, and investment firms Blum Capital and Golden Gate Capital jointly acquiring the operations of Payless ShoeSource, which operates 4,300 retail stores, and Collective’s global licensing business. Combined, the PLG and Payless ShoeSource divisions had annual revenues of about $2.4 billion last fiscal year.
In addition to Larsen, the acquisition was led by partner Timothy J. Riffle, chair of the Tax Section of the Corporate Department in Indianapolis. Other members of Barnes & Thornburg’s legal team include Kepten D. Carmichael, Stephen J. Dutton, Joshua P. Hollingsworth, and Dustin Daniels.
With more than 200 legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg’s Corporate Department has the depth and breadth of resources to assist clients in handling transactions ranging from simple to complex. The firm’s Corporate practice is complemented by dedicated industry service teams focused on industries such as life sciences, information technology, e-commerce, healthcare, telecommunications, financial institutions, construction, energy, transportation, global logistics, associations and foundations, aviation, media and utilities.
