To expand its offering portfolio, mobile case maker Incipio is ready to acquire Skullcandy for $177 million. Skullcandy, which is best known for making quality headphones and earplugs, is getting around $5.75 per share.
This acquisition is said to be an all-cash deal. Skullcandy is getting about 23% premium over Thursday’s closing price of $4.68. As a part of this deal, Incipio will also have Skullcandy’s gaming centric division – Astro Gaming.
Skullcandy now has about one month (till July 3) to look for other higher offers. If nothing comes up during that period, the deal shall close in Q3. In case of termination of deal, Skullcandy will have to pay a termination fee of $6.2 million.
This is yet another acquisition deal for Incipio which is in a process of building its own accessories empire. The company seems to be planning to become a one stop shop for mobile accessories.
Earlier last year, Incipio had acquired InCase, a company which makes cases and bags just for Apple products. A few months before that, it acquired ClamCase, a leading maker of iPad cases.
In 2013, it took Braven Audio under its radar. Prior to that, it had acquired accessories-maker Tavik. It currently has licensing deals with premium brands like Kate Spade, Burton, Rebecca Minkoff, Tumi, etc.
There will be no immediate effect on Skullcandy and the brand will remain intact. Also, there will be no major changes to its line-up of headphones. The company has priced its initial public offering at $20 per share, when it got listed in 2011. However, its share prices have fallen since than due to snail-paced growth.
Commenting on the deal, Andy Fathollahi, CEO and Founder of Incipio, stated,
We have long admired Skullcandy’s culture of innovation and ability to create pioneering audio experiences with quality and style. Skullcandy and Astro amplify our dynamic mix of products and brands. It bolsters the technical and operational capabilities that serve as the foundation of our platform. It will also allow us to accelerate the global impact of our multi-brand offense.
