Vermont Teddy Bear agrees to go private

Vermont Teddy Bear Co., an online and telephone gifts retailer, said it has agreed to be taken private by an investment group led by Boston-based private equity firm The Mustang Group LLC.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Vermont Teddy Bear’s common stockholders not continuing as investors in the company will receive $6.50 in cash per share of common stock upon the closing of the transaction, which is anticipated to occur on or before September 30, 2005, the company said.

“This transaction brings significant value to our stockholders and enables Vermont Teddy Bear to continue to build upon our leading position in the gift delivery industry,” said president and CEO Elisabeth B. Robert. “As a private company, Vermont Teddy Bear will no longer face the challenges of a small company trying to comply with increasingly complex and costly public company requirements. We will have more time and resources to devote to growing our business.”

Robert will continue to lead the company as president and CEO. Other senior executives will also remain.

Vermont Teddy Bear sells customized teddy bears at VermontTeddyBear.com and through a call center accessed through 1-800-829-BEAR. It also operates web and phone sales for apparel, gourmet food and floral gifts under the respective brand names PajamaGram, TastyGram and Calyx & Corolla.

For the third quarter ended March 31, Vermont Teddy Bear Co. reported net revenues of $25.6 million, up 27.4% from $20.1 million in the year-earlier period. It attributed about 54% of that increase to a rise in sales at PajamaGram and about 36% to a rise in sales of its Bear-Gram teddy bear gift baskets.