Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) announced the sale of the Kitchen Division of Focus Products Group International, LLC (FPG Kitchen), a portfolio company of Centre Lane Partners, to Lifetime Brands, Inc. BGL's Consumer Products & Retail team served as the exclusive financial advisor to Focus Products Group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
FPG Kitchen is an award-winning designer of innovative kitchen brand solutions including prep tools, utensils, baking accessories, and premium bakeware for the home and professional cook. The company's portfolio includes some of the most iconic brands in the housewares industry today such as Amco Houseworks®, Swing-A-Way®, and Chicago Metallic™. Amco Houseworks® has been a signature brand in stainless steel tools and gadgets since the 1970s. Its kitchen utensils and special accessories include items such as fruit and vegetable slicers, squeezers, mixing bowls, measuring cups, and spoons, as well as professional-grade utensils. Swing-A-Way® can openers have been a staple item in most kitchens since 1938. Its other kitchen utensils include corkscrews, vegetable peelers, and jar openers. Chicago Metallic™ has been providing home bakers with commercial-grade, quality bakeware products for more than 100 years, earning the reputation as "The Baking Experts". With its recognized brands and premium positioning in the marketplace, FPG Kitchen has solidified long-standing relationships with many of the nation's leading department stores, and gourmet and specialty, mass, and online retailers.
Lifetime Brands is a leading global provider of kitchenware, tableware, and other products used in the home. The company markets its kitchenware products under well-known brands that include Farberware® and KitchenAid®, among others. The acquisition represents an opportunity to expand its product reach and solidify its position within the consumer kitchen industry.
Brown Gibbons Lang & Company is a leading independent investment bank serving the middle market. BGL specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory services, debt and equity placements, financial restructuring advice, and valuations and fairness opinions, with global industry teams in business services, consumer, environmental & industrial services, healthcare & life sciences, industrials, and real estate. BGL has offices in Chicago, Cleveland, and Philadelphia and real estate offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Irvine, and San Antonio, in addition to Global M&A partner offices in more than 50 countries across 5 continents. BGL is able to deliver to our clients unparalleled access to corporations, investors, and opportunities globally.