ST. PAUL, Minn.--In a move that
brings together two of the U.S.'s largest independent wholesale
laboratory groups, the boards of directors for Soderberg Optical,
Inc. and The Walman Optical Company announced last month that the
two companies have entered into a letter of intent that would
result in a combination of the two businesses.
|
| Craig
Giles |
The parties expect to close the
transaction in May.
According to a joint announcement
issued by the companies, "it is anticipated that following the
transaction, the board of directors of Walman will consist of
representatives from both Soderberg and Walman." The companies said
they "do not currently expect that the transaction will result in
any reduction in personnel. Both boards recognize the trend towards
consolidation taking place in the optical industry and feel that
scale will be more important in the future."
Soderberg's president Craig Giles
commented "there probably aren't two more similar businesses in the
optical industry. Both companies have large wholesale laboratory
divisions complemented by significant frame, instrument, contact
lens and buying group businesses. Both companies rely on an
employee ownership culture."
 |
| Marty
Bassett |
"Combining the two companies does
not equate to merging the two brands," according to Marty Bassett,
Walman Optical's president. "Management is extremely sensitive to
the fact that our customers value the different elements of each
company's unique policy and service offerings. The focus of the
transaction will be maximizing each company's respective
strengths," he said.
The statement added, "the boards
anticipate that Walman and Soderberg customers will experience
business as usual both prior to and following completion of the
transaction. Eventually customers will benefit from having more
product options as the two companies work to combine their product
catalogs."
Both Soderberg and Walman are
employee-owned companies. Executives at both firms declined further
comment at presstime.
Walman Optical, based in
Minneapolis, was founded in 1915, and operates 20 locations,
serving customers nationally. According to VM's 2004 Top
Labs Report, Walman's 2004 estimated net sales from all of its
businesses were about $144 million, making it the U.S.'s largest
independent wholesale lab and the third-largest wholesale lab group
among all wholesale labs, ranked by Rx sales.
Soderberg Optical, founded in 1945,
operates 13 locations throughout the Midwest, and generated
estimated 2004 net sales of $51.1 million, according to VM's
Top Labs' report, which ranked it the second-largest U.S.
independent wholesale lab and the sixth-largest in terms of 2004 Rx
sales. nn