June 7, 2004 – Fairchild firms complete financing deal
The Fairchild Corporation, Mclean, Va., says its German subsidiaries, Hein Gericke Deutschland GmbH and PoloExpressversand, have closed a 41 million euro financing deal completing Fairchild’s acquisition of Hein Gericke, PoloExpress, and California-based Intersport Fashions West.
Officials at Fairchild say the funds, obtained from Stadtsparkasse Dusseldorf, HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt KgaA, and the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia, will be used to pay the balance of the purchase price owed to the administrator of Eurobike AG, who is the former owner of the three subsidiaries that now make up Fairchild Sports. The EuroBike and Fairchild deal was solidified Oct. 13, 2003.
“This financing is an important step for the advancement of Fairchild Sports and will allow us to broaden our brand recognition on a global basis,” said Eric Steiner, president and chief operating officer of The Fairchild Corporation. “In addition, it will free management to focus on the integration and restructuring of the component parts of Fairchild Sports to improve operational efficiencies of the business.
Steiner says Faichild will continue to look for additional sources of capital to expand Fairchild Sports and “to pursue other opportunities for The Fairchild Corporation.”
Hein Gericke operates 146 retail shops in Austria, Belgium, England, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, and PoloExpress operates 84 retail shops in Germany.
Intersport Fashions West, located in Tustin, Calif., is a designer and distributor of motorcycle apparel, boots and helmets, under several labels, including First Gear and Hein Gericke. In addition, Intersport Fashions West designs and produces apparel under private labels for third parties, including Harley-Davidson.
In addition to Fairchild Sports, The Fairchild Corporation is engaged in the aerospace distribution business, stocking and distributing a wide variety of parts to aircraft operators and aerospace companies. It also owns and operates a shopping center in Farmingdale, N.Y. psb
