Phoenix sells Altama to Wellco owner
As part of its ongoing restructuring plan American shoe company Phoenix Footwear has sold its Altama military division to Tactical Holdings, Inc — the owner of Wellco Enterprises — for $15 million, well below the $35.3 million it paid for the company back in 2004.
Commenting on the sale Phoenix’s chairman, James Riedman, said: “The sale of Altama is an important part of continued improvements to our capital base. In addition to the direct cash it raises, it is expected to offset all of the capital taxes which arose from our gain earlier in the year with our Royal Robbins divestiture. The net effect of the sale and tax benefits should be to largely extinguish our debt by the end of fiscal 2008 in the absence of any extraordinary events. We believe this step enhances our prospects and allows us to concentrate on generating shareholder returns with our remaining brands.”
Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, Phoenix now focuses on designing, developing and marketing men's and women's dress and casual footwear, belts, and accessories. Its remaining brands and licences include Tommy Bahama Footwear, Trotters, SoftWalk, H.S. Trask, Chambers Belts and Wranglers.
