Texas Holdings Co. Acquires Footwear Labels

Richardson, Texas–based holding company Titan Global Holdings Inc. has purchased the majority of assets of Santa Barbara, Calif.–based Global Brand Marketing Inc. (GBMI), which holds global footwear licenses for Diesel, Nautica, Sean John, Mecca and Seven For All Mankind, among others.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The acquisition includes inventory, accounts-receivable and intellectual-property assets. Titan said it will aggressively and profitably market brands worldwide with high-quality and well-designed apparel and footwear products supported by strong and distinct marketing strategies under the newly formed subsidiary, Titan Apparel Inc.

GBMI, founded in 1996 by former Skechers Inc. and Nike Inc. executive Killick Datta, owns and develops Dry-shod, No Mass, Mehandi and Funflopps footwear brands and operates a chain of retail stores called Global Feet.

“We see exceptional long-term growth opportunities from this exciting new acquisition,” said Kurt Jensen, chairman of Titan, in a statement. “We are looking forward to building on the past success that Killick and his team have achieved as a means to building additional value for our shareholders.”

As part of the deal, Titan has hired Datta and his core staff. Datta was named president and chief executive officer of Titan Apparel, which is expected to continue operating in Santa Barbara.

Titan is a diversified holding company with interests in several telecommunications, energy and consumer-products companies. The company’s strategy is to take advantage of valuable synergies between its subsidiaries to maximize revenue growth, internal development and strategic acquisitions. In fiscal 2007, the company posted more than $111 million in revenues with projections to grow to $747 million in 2008.

Robert McAllister