AC Moore Sold To Crafts Distributor Sbar's Inc.
Struggling craft chain store AC Moore agreed yesterday to be acquired by arts and crafts distributor Sbar's Inc for $1.60 per share in cash, approximately $40.8 million. The stock closed on Monday at $.95 per share, but rose to $1.50 after news of the buyout hit the market. The stock has been steadily losing value since hitting a 52 week high in March of $3.56.
The transaction is being financed by Wells Fargo N.A and is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2011. After the transaction's close, AC Moore stock will no longer be publicly owned or traded.
AC Moore currently has 134 stores in the eastern U.S. as well as an online store. The company has been struggling during the current downturn, even as the other major craft chains have been reporting positive results, and has closed stores and taken other restructuring action. In January the company formed a committee to evaluate their alternatives after receiving unsolicited buyout inquiries.
Sbar's is a craft distributor that was founded in 1952 as a small craft, hobby, and school supply store in Camden, New Jersey. Today the company is one of the largest craft product distributors in the U.S., operating out of a 300,000 square foot facility in Moorestown, New Jersey. The company also owns seven arts and crafts stores in the Richmond, Virginia area.
