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Following Series of Acquisitions, Quality Gold To Go Public
The jewelry wholesaler and distributor plans to enter the public market through a merger with Tastemaker Acquisition Corp., a SPAC.
A selection of chain from Fairfield, Ohio-based supplier Quality Gold. The company announced that it plans to go public through a merger with special purpose acquisition company Tastemaker Acquisition Corp. It is slated to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol “QGLD.”
Fairfield, Ohio—Quality Gold Inc. plans to go public through a merger with Tastemaker Acquisition Corp., the two companies announced last week.
Based in the Cincinnati suburb of Fairfield, Ohio, Quality Gold is a jewelry wholesale and distribution company founded in 1979 by David Langhammer and currently run by his sons, CEO Michael Langhammer and Chief Operating Officer Jason Langhammer.
The company has more than 15,000 retail customers, a mix of independents, regional chains, department stores, and e-commerce platforms. It supplies them with finished jewelry, watches (including pre-owned Rolex and Cartier) and natural and lab-grown diamonds.
Quality Gold said it had a record year in fiscal 2022 (ended March 31), with revenue totaling $534 million and adjusted EBITDA of $82 million.
It also has acquired and integrated a dozen companies since 2012—most recently IBGoodman Manufacturing Co. in June—and said the merger will enable it to continue with targeted M&As.
“We are excited to take this major step forward in becoming a publicly traded company,” said Jason Langhammer.
“We have built a business that is well diversified across products, suppliers and customers, has proven to be incredibly stable, and is poised for strong future growth. Our decision to go public is intended to supercharge Quality’s Gold’s growth as the premier jewelry logistics and distribution provider.”
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Based in the Cincinnati suburb of Fairfield, Ohio, Quality Gold is a jewelry wholesale and distribution company founded in 1979 by David Langhammer and currently run by his sons, CEO Michael Langhammer and Chief Operating Officer Jason Langhammer.
The company has more than 15,000 retail customers, a mix of independents, regional chains, department stores, and e-commerce platforms. It supplies them with finished jewelry, watches (including pre-owned Rolex and Cartier) and natural and lab-grown diamonds.
Quality Gold said it had a record year in fiscal 2022 (ended March 31), with revenue totaling $534 million and adjusted EBITDA of $82 million.
It also has acquired and integrated a dozen companies since 2012—most recently IBGoodman Manufacturing Co. in June—and said the merger will enable it to continue with targeted M&As.
“We are excited to take this major step forward in becoming a publicly traded company,” said Jason Langhammer.
“We have built a business that is well diversified across products, suppliers and customers, has proven to be incredibly stable, and is poised for strong future growth. Our decision to go public is intended to supercharge Quality’s Gold’s growth as the premier jewelry logistics and distribution provider.”
Tastemaker Acquisition Corp. is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) led by co-CEOs Dave Pace and Andy Pforzheimer. Also known as a “blank check company,” SPACs do not have any commercial operations but exist solely to raise capital through an initial public offering or by merging or acquiring an existing company.
(Another jewelry player, Blue Nile, also planned to go public through a SPAC but it never happened; the retailer was later acquired by Signet.)
The deal values the combined companies at $989 million.
Upon closing, Quality Gold Inc. will become Quality Gold Holdings Inc. and will trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol “QGLD.”
The Langhammer brothers and their current senior management team will continue to run the company, and existing Quality Gold equity holders will retain approximately 94 percent of the new company’s pro forma equity.
The boards of directors of both Quality Gold and Tastemaker have unanimously approved the transaction.
It is subject to other customary closing conditions, including certain regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.
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