GONZALES, La.–The final purchase price for Crown Crafts’ previously announced acquisition of the infant and toddler line of Springs Global has been finalized at $11 million. Crown Crafts originally announced the purchase agreement in early November at an initial purchase price of $12.4 million, which was reduced to $11 million following a second evaluation of Springs’ assets. The deal closed on Dec. 24.
The acquisition is expected to benefit Crown Crafts by increasing net sales by $25 million and pretax net income by $3.5 million.
Consumer Confidence Edges Up in December NEW YORK Dec. 28, 2007 Consumer confidence inched up in December, solely on the assumption that economic conditions will be better than current circumstances.
The Conference Board reported that the index, based on a monthly survey of 5,000 households, rose less than a point this month, to 88.6 from 87.8. When asked how they viewed the present situation, consumers remained pessimistic, more than they had in November. Looking six months into the future, however, consumers expect conditions to improve.
Lynn Franco, director of consumer research at the Conference Board, stated that “while consumers are less negative about the near-term future, they remain far from optimistic. Furthermore, persistent declines in the Present Situation Index indicate the economy is still losing momentum.” In keeping with the belief that near-term conditions will improve, more consumers said they plan to buy major appliances within the next half year than was the case both a month ago and in December 2006.
