The Evenflo Co. has signed an agreement to be acquired by Goodbaby International Holdings Limited. Goodbaby is principally engaged in the design, research and development, manufacturing, marketing, and sale of durable juvenile products. The agreement is definitive and binding pending Goodbaby shareholder approval, which should take place within 45 days.
Evenflo principally engages in the design, research and development, manufacturing, marketing, and sale of Evenflo, Exersaucer, and Snugli branded juvenile products. Its portfolio includes play yards and stationary activity centers to go with car seats, travel systems, safety gates, high chairs, and more. Evenflo brands are sold at key retailers such as Wal-Mart, Toys “R” Us, Target, and Amazon.
Goodbaby is headquartered in China, while more than 70 percent of Evenflo sales are manufactured in Ohio and Mexico. As part of the arrangement, Goodbaby will keep production in North America, including Evenflo facilities in Piqua, Ohio, and Miamisburg, Ohio. The two locations combined employ more than 350 people.
“All facilities are remaining, all jobs are remaining, and we’re even beginning work to see about the potential of adding jobs to Piqua,” says Scott Weiss, CEO of Evenflo. “It is early, but we are quite optimistic.”
Weiss added that Ohio has a policy conducive to manufacturing, and that Goodbaby’s acquisition of Evenflo aligns with efforts to generate more jobs statewide in that sector.
