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VF Corp. Buying Dickies

Apparel maker VF Corporation has announced that it is buying Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co., the owner of Dickies and other workwear brands, for $820 million. Dickies – the iconic workwear line that is also popular in certain fashion segments – has a presence in the promotional products industry through Dickies Occupational Wear (asi/49675).

Headquartered in Greensboro, NC, VF expects the deal to close early in the fourth quarter. Principles said the acquisition of Williamson-Dickie empowers VF to create a global leader in workwear. Williamson-Dickie brands include Dickies, Workrite, Kodiak, Terra and Walls. These brands will join VF’s current workwear offerings, which include Wrangler, RIGGS Workwear, Timberland PRO, Red Kap, Bulwark and Horace Small. VF says the combined workwear offerings tally up to $1.7 billion in annual revenue.

Williamson-Dickie CEO Philip Williamson, who will remain with the Fort Worth, TX-based company following the completed acquisition, was upbeat about the future.

“Today’s announcement is an authentic and natural next step as we look to combine the strengths of our two companies to create significant opportunities for our employees, vendors, retail partners and ultimately, our customers,” Williamson said in statement released last week when the deal was announced. “We expect that under VF’s leadership, we’ll be able to experience the next wave of growth and better meet the needs of workers everywhere.”

Following the acquisition announcement, VF said it anticipates that 2017 revenue will rise 3.5% to $11.85 billion. That includes about $200 million from Williamson-Dickie. By 2021, VF believes that Williamson-Dickie will produce more than $1 billion in revenue.

One of the world’s largest apparel, footwear and accessories companies, VF’s other offerings include lifestyle brands like Vans, The North Face and Lee.