Sweet deal for FTD

$800 MILLION TAKEOVER | After sale to United Online, Downers Grove headquarters to remain largely intact

FTD, the Downers Grove-based floral company, will be acquired by United Online Inc. for about $456 million in cash, notes and stock, the companies announced Wednesday.

The takeover, which totals $800 million when FTD debt and expenses are included, values FTD at $15.08 a share, a 12 percent premium to the florist's closing price on Tuesday. On Wednesday, shares gained 25 cents, or 1.9 percent, to close at $13.75.

FTD shareholders will receive $7.34 in cash, 0.4087 of a share of United Online stock and $3.31 of United Online's senior secured notes due 2013 for each share they own.

FTD's headquarters in Downers Grove will remain intact, with few changes, United Online CEO Mark R. Goldston told Wall Street analysts in a conference call Wednesday. One exception is FTD CEO Michael Soenen, who told the Sun-Times in February that he plans to leave after Mother's Day to start a new venture.

Said Goldston, "It's not our strategy to reduce manpower. . . . FTD is a great company. It has great management."

Goldston said United Online, the operator of NetZero and Juno Internet service providers, intends to expand FTD's online revenue-making opportunities, particularly because less than 5 percent of the floral industry's revenue comes from Internet sales, and the two companies have more than 50 million overlapping customers.

Goldston said United Online intends to help florists increase their revenues, too, by improving "how they present themselves; how they are integrated with the FTD story so they appear much more a part of the family; and how they use the Internet as a leverage tool to drive their business rather than looking at the Internet as a competitor."

Separately, FTD rival 1-800-FLOWERS said Wednesday it has bought DesignPac Gifts LLC of Melrose Park, a designer and assembler of gourmet gift sets and gift baskets, for $36 million.

The acquisition is 1-800-FLOWERS' third local buy; the company also owns Chicago-based Fannie May Confections and The Popcorn Factory in Lake Forest.