Acquisition

20 Dec 2005 07:00

Hornby PLC20 December 2005 HORNBY ACQUIRES FRENCH DISTRIBUTION COMPANY Hornby Plc ("Hornby"), the models and collectibles group, has announced that ithas acquired the assets and ongoing business of its distributor in France. MKD,a family owned company, is based outside Paris and is a well-known distributorof model railway products and Scalextric throughout France. Founded in 1981, MKDreported sales in 2004 of €3.8 million, producing earnings before interest andtax of €226,000. Under the terms of the Sale and Purchase Agreement Hornby acquires the "Fonds deCommerce" of MKD. Under this arrangement, frequently used in France, Hornbyacquires the fixed and intangible assets and retains existing employees of whichthere are 11. Hornby does not assume responsibility for any of MKD'sliabilities. The consideration for the Fonds de Commerce is €750,000. Theinventory of MKD is subject to a separate valuation and purchase agreement foran amount of approximately €750,000, subject to audit. Frank Martin, Chief Executive of Hornby commented, " The acquisition of the assets of MKD and the establishment of Hornby France isa further vital strategic step in establishing a pan-European model railway andslot racing business. " MKD has been the Scalextric distributor in France since 1996 and the foundersof the business, Olivier and Martine Lanter have many years of experience in theFrench model railway market. Both previously worked for Jouef in the 1980's. " The Jouef brand, which we acquired with the Lima assets, enjoys a similarlevel of awareness and affection amongst consumers in France as Hornby does inthe UK. In order to maximise the benefit from our plans to re-invigorate theJouef product line, following the relocation of the manufacturing activity toChina, it was important for us to control the distribution of Jouef in France.Direct control of our distribution of Scalextric in France will also enable usto attack the market more aggressively in the same way as we have in Spain thisyear through Electrotren." We expect to be able to increase significantly the sales and profits in MKD(Hornby France) as substantially higher sales volumes will be channelled throughthe existing, fixed cost base." -ends- Date: 20 December 2005For further information contact: Hornby Plc cityPROFILEFrank Martin, Chief Executive Simon CourtenayJohn Stansfield, Finance Director 020-7448-324401843-233500Web: www.hornby.com or: www.scalextric.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange