WASHINGTON - Gordon Brothers, the parent company of gag- and novelty-item retailer Spencer Gifts Holdings Inc., sold a majority share of the chain to ACON Investments on Tuesday.
ACON, a privately held equity firm based in Washington, now is the majority owner of the 600 Spencer's stores and 300 Spirit Halloween stores. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to the Gordon Brothers website, Spencer's management will remain intact. GB Merchants Partners, the private-equity arm of Gordon Brothers, will have a controlling interest in Spencer's Gifts.
"We always believed that Spencer Gifts occupied a unique space in the specialty-gift sector," said Matthew Kahn, managing director of GB Merchant Partners, on the Gordon Brothers website. "We uncovered value by capitalizing on the company's strong brand awareness and high level of consistent foot traffic, while infusing the company with a strong management team and also eliminating underperforming divisions."
Gordon Brothers, known for helping merchants liquidate excess inventory, once was recognized as "the Green Berets of retail."