Blair Corp (BL): A Former Perennial Net/Net Gets Taken Out

Warren PA based clothing retailer Blair, which we last reported on in August, will be acquired by Golden Gate Capital, a San Francisco private equity firm, for $173.6 million in cash, or $42.50 per share. This represented a 23.6 premium to Blair's price at the announcement of the deal.

In our last research report on Blair, we suggested the company might go private, following a relatively huge transaction in which the company bought back more than half it outstanding shares. At the time, Blair was trading in the $24 range, so relative to that price, the buyout price of $42.50 represents a 75% gain in 5 months.

Former Net/Net
In years past, Blair's name was always at or near the top of the list (in terms of market cap) of companies trading below their net current asset value. In fact, if our recent report The Top Ten Net/Nets Four Years Later had gone a little further, Blair would have been 12th on the list.

Original Blair Research
2/14/03

*The author does not have a position in this stock. This is neither a recommendation to buy or sell this security. All information provided believed to be reliable and presented for information purposes only.