Leatherman Tool Group Inc. has acquired one of the worlds leading flashlight manufacturers in a deal that nearly triples the size of its work force.
Portland-based Leatherman will hold a majority stake in Zweibrüder Optoelectronics GmbH & Co. KB, a Solingen, Germany-based company that makes flashlights under the LED Lenser brand.
Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in a little more than two months, were not disclosed.
Leatherman is known mostly as a manufacturer of knives and multi-tools pocket knife-like products with multiple applications. It doesnt disclose revenue, though various financial sources estimate it generates more than $100 million in annual sales.
Though it is already a participant in the LED light space with its Monarch series of flashlights, the acquisition would seem to make it one of the biggest players in a lighting sector thats projected to grow 35 percent this year.
In a news release, Leatherman said Zweibrüder employs more than 1,000 people worldwide.
Leatherman, by contrast, employs just 380.
Leatherman intends to keep the companies separate, with Leatherman tools being made in Portland and the LED Lenser brand retaining its German design and Asian manufacturing operations....
