Boot Barn announces its acquisition of Sheplers

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Jun 2, 2015

Boot Barn, the leading lifestyle retailer of western and work-related footwear, apparel and accessories, announced on Monday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Sheplers, Inc., also a footwear, apparel and accessories retailer for the western lifestyle.

Boot Barn, which with the addition of Sheplers will operate 200 stores in 29 states, will acquire the 116-year old company for a purchasing price of $147 million in cash, a transaction that was approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies.

The Sheplers acquisition will grow Boot Barn’s e-commerce penetration by 11%, currently at 4%, and is expected to generate $6 to $8 million of annual synergies and be immediately accretive to earnings. The addition of Sheplers’ e-commerce platform provides opportunities to create a dual brand online offering

By rebranding the Sheplers stores to the Boot Barn banner, Boot Barn will enhance its store footprint by adding eight new retail markets and build its position in Texas and Colorado. The businesses are highly complementary, with a similar western lifestyle focus, customer base, and store experience, which will allow Boot Barn to extend key merchandise categories and brands across the chain and access a combined database of more than five million customers.

Bob Myers, Chief Executive Officer of Sheplers, commented, "Our ability to grow the largest online business in the industry started with building upon our loyal customer base from our long-standing catalog format. Joining the Boot Barn family will allow Sheplers to provide value to a larger customer base through both in-store and online channels and provide more opportunities for many of our associates both in the field and in our corporate office."
 
The transaction is expected to close by the week of June 29th and is subject to closing conditions. Boot Barn expects to finance the acquisition with third party debt.