Crocs to acquire casual footwear brand Heydude for $2.5 billion

Casual footwear company Crocs has today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire footwear brand Heydude for $2.5 billion.

Upon completion of the transaction, Heydude will operate as a standalone division in the company. Alessandro Rosano, Founder of Heydude, will continue to lead product development as Strategic Advisor and Creative Director.

As part of the transaction, Rick Blackshaw has been hired to join the company as Executive Vice President and Brand President. Blackshaw brings over 25 years of footwear experience and most recently served as the CEO at CCM Hockey and previously held positions as the President of Sperry, President of Keds, and General Manager of the Chuck Taylor division of Converse.

Andrew Rees, Chief Executive Officer of Crocs, said: "We believe Heydude's casual, comfortable and lightweight products are aligned to long-term consumer trends and are a perfect fit for Crocs. We intend to leverage our global presence, best-in-class marketing and scale infrastructure to build upon Heydude's strong foundation and create significant shareholder value. We truly admire the business that founder Alessandro Rosano has built and are honoured to welcome the Heydude team to Crocs."

Heydude Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Alessandro Rosano, added: "We founded Heydude in Italy in 2008, to develop comfortable, versatile and accessible footwear. We are proud of the brand we built and are honoured to become a part of Crocs, a company perfectly positioned to take Heydude to the next level. We have long admired the Crocs business and are excited to have them bring Heydude's comfort, craftsmanship, and style to consumers globally."

The purchase price of $2.5 billion, subject to closing adjustments, will be funded by $2.05 billion in cash and $450 million in Crocs shares issued to Rosano based on the average of the daily volume-weighted average price of Crocs stock for the 20 days immediately prior to the signing date.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.

Crocs recently reported record third quarter revenues, with revenues reaching $625.9 million, a 73% increase from a year earlier.