P.M. Briefing : Zale to Buy Gordon Jewelry Chain
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HOUSTON — Zale Corp., the nation’s largest jewelry chain, said today it will pay $310.9 million for Gordon Jewelry Corp., the No. 2 chain with more than 600 stores.
Gordon stock, which already had been trading at record levels on speculation that the company would be sold, shot up more than $6 on the news to near the proposed sale price of $36.75 a share.
Gordon, founded as a general store in Houston in 1905, had a net profit last year of $6.2 million on sales of $389.6 million.
About two-thirds of Gordon’s stores sell contemporary, moderately priced jewelry, almost exclusively in shopping malls. The remainder are traditional, upper-end stores that operate under different names in each market.
Zale, which was taken private more than two years ago, had more than 1,300 stores and $1 billion in annual sales at the time. Zale officials could not be reached for comment on the fate of Gordon stores that compete directly with Zale.
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