Gildan Acquires Anvil
Breaking News Alert 
May 3, 2012

Gildan Activewear Inc. today signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the holdings of Anvil, parent company of Anvil Knitwear (asi/36350). The deal is for a total purchase price of $88 million. Anthony Corsano, president and CEO of Anvil, will now become a member of Gildan's senior management team. Corsano will join Gildan's Branded Apparel division and focus on the continuing development of Anvil's strategy to grow its business of providing high-volume quality products for non-retailer brands.

"We believe that the acquisition of Anvil and the combination of the compatible cultures and strengths of our two companies will position Gildan to further enhance our product offering for our printwear customers and build further on our leadership position in this market,” said Glenn Chamandy, president and CEO of Gildan, in a statement. "In addition, the projected economic returns from the acquisition are highly attractive and are expected to create further value for our shareholders."

Gildan says it expects to generate significant synergies as a result of this deal, especially with its ability to integrate Anvil's production for the printwear market into Gildan's manufacturing model. The acquisition will be financed using Gildan's bank credit facility, and Gildan will not assume any of Anvil's currently outstanding debt. For its fiscal year ended January 28, 2012, Anvil generated EBITDA of approximately $17 million on sales revenues in excess of $200 million. Gildan has annual revenues of nearly $2 billion.

The companies expect the deal to close by the end of May.