US clothing company HanesBrands to buy Australia’s Pacific Brands for $836 mn

US clothing company HanesBrands yesterday tabled an unsolicited A$1.1-billion ($836 million) buyout bid for Australian underwear and T-shirt maker Pacific Brands Ltd.

HanesBrands has offered to pay A$1.15 per share, a 22-per cent premium to Pacific Brands yesterday's closing price of A$0.94.

Pacific said that its board supports the unsolicited proposal from HanesBrands and has recommended that its shareholders accept the offer.

However, Hanes has indicated that they consider the Tontine & Dunlop Flooring (TDF) businesses as having limited strategic fit to their business and that it is their current intention to divest TDF as a going concern post completion.

If the Hanes transaction does not proceed, Pacific Brands intends to retain TDF.

North Carolina-based HanesBrands said that this is its sixth acquisition in three years and Pacific Brands would add Australia and New Zealand to the countries where it holds No1 or No2 position in the underwear market.

''Hanes is a lot like Pacific Brands – they have market leading brands like Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, Maidenform, JMS/Just My Size and Wonderbra in the underwear, intimate apparel, activewear and hosiery categories. They have plans to leverage their extensive global footprint and supply chain network to accelerate the growth of our iconic brands such as Bonds and Sheridan,'' Pacific Brands said in a statement.

Pacific Brand is a consumer products and retail company that owns a portfolio of iconic brands.

The company has come a long way from the time George Bond started selling imported hosiery to retailers in Sydney in 1915, becoming Australia's leading underwear and home furnishing company with some of the best brands in Australia, including Bonds, Berlei, Explorer, Rio, Sheridan and Tontine.

Pacific Brand designs and develops its products which are sold through wholesale and retail channels throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

The company employs 3,600 people across five countries.

Winston-Salem-based HanesBrand is a leading marketer of everyday basic innerwear and activewear apparel in the Americas, Europe and Asia under apparel brands, including Hanes, Champion, Playtex, DIM, Bali, Maidenform, JMS/Just My Size, L'eggs, Wonderbra, Nur Die/Nur Der, Lovable and Gear for Sports.

The company sells T-shirts, bras, shapewear, underwear, socks, hosiery, and activewear produced in the company's low-cost global supply chain.

It employs around 65,300 people in more than 40 countries and is ranked No. 490 on the Fortune 500 list of America's largest companies by sales.