Koelstra acquires Little Company to create baby products giant

By Staff Reporter

Nov 11, 2013 04:57 AM EST

According to its press release, Koelstra said it had secured an agreement with Little Company to acquire the latter. No financial information was disclosed.

Koelstra was founded as a company that produces products for the baby. Since its establishment in 1934, it had been known as a retailer of buggies and prams, two types of baby carriers. Its distribution center and headquarters are in Gorredijk, The Netherlands.

Little Company is a traditional Dutch brand known to sell luxurious nursery bags and sleeping bags for babies and toddlers.

Chief executive officers Jan Arend Koelstra of Koelstra and Marc Ernst of Little Company had arrived at an agreement to consolidate both Dutch companies, said Koelstra's press release. Both companies had labored negotiations regarding the consolidation of the two companies for months, and had conducted intensive consultations with unnamed financial advisers.

As per the terms of the agreement, Koelstra would allow Little Company to operate as an independent company. However, production and sales, distribution and development of Little Company products would be moved to Gorredijk. The move would allow Koelstra to monitor and enhance such operational activities in an equal manner, Koelstra said.

Koesltra said the acquisition of Little Company would allow both to increase its market share in the baby products market internationally. Koelstra's product line had been marketed all over Europe. The press release of the Gorredijk-based company was unclear which international markets, however, would Koelstra intended to expand its business into.

Baby products would be considered as stable cash cows by majority of big firms. In a BBC report, the British Office for National Statistics said 813,200 babies were born in the UK between 2011 and 2012. London, east and southeast England accounted a combined 53% of growth in the year, the Statistics office added.

Campaign group Migration Watch Alp Mehmet said, "These figures have a significant bearing on future needs like school places and housing as well as services."

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