If you want a wild ride and skin in the billiard game, go for it. Their stock price is about 60% of their recent high and three times what it was 18 months ago. Expect a factor of two change over the next two years. Pray for up.
Brunswick sold to Escalade
- Thread starter gerryf
- Start date
This is a sideways comment I am sure, but I am hopeful for the Brunswick revival. That said, I don't have great faith. It's extremely challenging to take an "Old" name back into main stream popularity. Sears couldn't make a comeback. Macy's is floundering. In the midst of their old school arrogance, Sam Walton swooped in with a new and better model, and took complete ownership of the retail home industry. Nostalgia CAN sell, but there has to be something really special to offer. In the "Home" market, the vast majority of people just buy a "Pool Table" from the local "Rec Store". The Chinese tables they sell look nice and match the furniture in the basement. That is likely where their Heritage line is squarely aimed. How then, in the upscale market, do you convince someone to buy the $8k Brunswick resurrected to a high end table over the $8k Diamond that is all over TV and has taken over the market while everyone else slept? It will be hard to knock them off of their pedestal.
A recent example for me is this: I just bought a brand new set of Brunswick Centennials. I know all of the in fighting about the quality and whether they are Duramith or Super Pro or some other proprietary formulation, but I weighed all 16 balls just this afternoon. 16 out of 16 hit the scale at exactly 165gm. They are an absolute perfect set. I have over 40 hours on the table with them now, and they play wonderfully. The only other set I have ever owned that did that were my Arcos II's. ( I also own an Aramith Tournament set, but that did not weigh in perfect. They play great as well, but that one area, they missed ) Why doesn't anyone know about that level of quality? Brunswick has not done poor marketing. They have done NO marketing. It's going to take a very aggressive campaign and some intense, expensive, repetitive visibility with a new attitude to win back the world. I don't know if there is enough cash at the end of that rainbow to make it worth the while.
A recent example for me is this: I just bought a brand new set of Brunswick Centennials. I know all of the in fighting about the quality and whether they are Duramith or Super Pro or some other proprietary formulation, but I weighed all 16 balls just this afternoon. 16 out of 16 hit the scale at exactly 165gm. They are an absolute perfect set. I have over 40 hours on the table with them now, and they play wonderfully. The only other set I have ever owned that did that were my Arcos II's. ( I also own an Aramith Tournament set, but that did not weigh in perfect. They play great as well, but that one area, they missed ) Why doesn't anyone know about that level of quality? Brunswick has not done poor marketing. They have done NO marketing. It's going to take a very aggressive campaign and some intense, expensive, repetitive visibility with a new attitude to win back the world. I don't know if there is enough cash at the end of that rainbow to make it worth the while.
EDGAR is down right now (insert government website joke here: ______________), so I can't pull much in the way of APA or other documents filed in connection with the purchase. I'm guessing a good chunk of that $32MM purchase price is allocated to the real estate and distribution facility. Anyway, here is a more specific write up that gives more detail. If I get around to pulling the APA, I'd be happy to edit this to give more detail. The schedules won't be included though, so there's only so much to be had from it.
01/03/2022 | 06:31am EST
Item 1.01 - Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement
On December 30, 2021, Indian Industries, Inc. ("Indian"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Escalade, Incorporated ("Escalade" or the "Company") entered into a definitive Asset Purchase Agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") with Life Fitness, LLC (the "Seller"), a portfolio company of KPS Capital Partners, LP. Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, Indian has agreed to acquire all of the Seller's assets relating to the Seller's Brunswick Billiards business, including certain intellectual property rights to the name "Brunswick Billiards" and derivations thereof and the Seller's 120,000 square foot distribution facility located in Bristol, Wisconsin. The Seller's Brunswick Billiard's business primarily consists of developing, designing, manufacturing, marketing, distributing and selling billiard tables, table tennis games, shuffleboard tables, foosball tables, and air hockey tables.
Indian has agreed to purchase the Brunswick Billiards assets for a purchase price of thirty two million dollars ($32,000,000.00), subject to a net working capital adjustment to be determined as of the closing date. In addition, Indian will assume certain current liabilities included in such net working capital and all liabilities relating to the Brunswick Billiards business arising after the closing of the acquisition. The Purchase Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants of the Seller, including non-competition, non-solicitation of employees, and non-disparagement provisions for the three years following the closing. Two million dollars of the purchase price will be placed into escrow for a period of 18 months to cover indemnification claims, and the Seller's overall indemnification is capped at six million four hundred thousand dollars except for claims based on fraud or covenants and agreements requiring action or inaction after the closing.
The closing of the acquisition is subject to various conditions and is expected to occur prior to the end of January. The Company anticipates that the funds needed to consummate the acquisition will come from cash on hand and/or borrowings under the Company's credit facilities.
The foregoing summary of the material terms of the Purchase Agreement is qualified in its entirety by the Purchase Agreement filed as Exhibit 10.1 to this Form 8-K.
ESCALADE INC : Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement, Regulation FD Disclosure, Financial Statements and Exhibits (form 8-K)
01/03/2022 | 06:31am EST
Item 1.01 - Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement
On December 30, 2021, Indian Industries, Inc. ("Indian"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Escalade, Incorporated ("Escalade" or the "Company") entered into a definitive Asset Purchase Agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") with Life Fitness, LLC (the "Seller"), a portfolio company of KPS Capital Partners, LP. Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, Indian has agreed to acquire all of the Seller's assets relating to the Seller's Brunswick Billiards business, including certain intellectual property rights to the name "Brunswick Billiards" and derivations thereof and the Seller's 120,000 square foot distribution facility located in Bristol, Wisconsin. The Seller's Brunswick Billiard's business primarily consists of developing, designing, manufacturing, marketing, distributing and selling billiard tables, table tennis games, shuffleboard tables, foosball tables, and air hockey tables.
Indian has agreed to purchase the Brunswick Billiards assets for a purchase price of thirty two million dollars ($32,000,000.00), subject to a net working capital adjustment to be determined as of the closing date. In addition, Indian will assume certain current liabilities included in such net working capital and all liabilities relating to the Brunswick Billiards business arising after the closing of the acquisition. The Purchase Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants of the Seller, including non-competition, non-solicitation of employees, and non-disparagement provisions for the three years following the closing. Two million dollars of the purchase price will be placed into escrow for a period of 18 months to cover indemnification claims, and the Seller's overall indemnification is capped at six million four hundred thousand dollars except for claims based on fraud or covenants and agreements requiring action or inaction after the closing.
The closing of the acquisition is subject to various conditions and is expected to occur prior to the end of January. The Company anticipates that the funds needed to consummate the acquisition will come from cash on hand and/or borrowings under the Company's credit facilities.
The foregoing summary of the material terms of the Purchase Agreement is qualified in its entirety by the Purchase Agreement filed as Exhibit 10.1 to this Form 8-K.
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A GC VI with ball return and Simonis is about $12,000 list. But I think Brunswick is mostly interested in the home market at this point, and I wonder how much traction being the main brand on TV would get them. Diamond is not really in the home table market.
Yes, SALUC makes very nice balls. It will be interesting to see if Brunswick keeps them as a supplier.
As stated earlier mostly what they bought is a name. No manuf. facilities. Just an assembly/shipping location and a dealer network. If they're smart they'll downsize the number of models offered ala Diamond. They'll need a competitor for the ProAm if they want to take on Diamond in the commercial side.
You'd be surprised, maybe not, at the # of D'monds that end up in home rooms.
My point is that once you back the distribution facility out of the purchase price, what remains really isn't that much for the remaining assets and goodwill.
Macys and Sears are big box retail stores-not manufactures.
Look at Walmarts stock price 12/31/2020 to 12/31/2021 and you’ll gain more insight into their performance.
Target on the other hand is doing great so is Home Depot.
But that’s all retail stores, not manufacture.
Apples to Apples.
Bwick has brand recognition, and the market is healthy presently for home billiard products/ commercial I know a few things Bwick is doing and they will do well.
Centennial balls are the dead nuts but $400 wtf is that about? Lol
Take care
Fatboy
A friend of mine had a very nice cocobolo Diamond. Like most Diamond owners, he's a fanatic. I was thinking the average home table for $2000 from China.
Already in the works
In quantity “home” 8’ tables from China start at $400-$1000 and retail at 4-5X that price.
I hear ya. The Chin. have the lion's share of the home ballbanger market.
I'm guessing its a big version of that new bar-table. Close??
Yup. And that bar box is great. They are coming with some sexy modern looking product.
But to be clear, all Brunswick (Life Fitness) tables sold the last decade + were just Chinese tables with a nameplate. It's been a long time since Brunswick made or designed anything itself in this market.
Who did the GC6 then? And please don't say college kids. They made a rough sketch of a rough aesthetic design. Does BW have engineers on staff? Or did the Chinese engineers design the GC6?
Last US-BUILT table was in 1976-ish iirc. Since then they've been an assembler/retailer. They've outsourced stuff from China, Mexico, Brazil, Malaysia to name a few.
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
This could be the start of something big.
B'wick designed it with help from design students.