Party City Announces the Acquisition of Granmark

ELMSFORD, N.Y., March 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Party City Holdco Inc. (NYSE: PRTY ), the leading vertically integrated party goods company in North America, today announced that it has acquired a majority interest in Granmark, S.A. de C.V., a leading privately held manufacturer and distributor of party supplies, gift wrap and stationery items based in Monterrey, Mexico.

Founded in 1985, Granmark’s portfolio of licenses includes Disney, Dreamworks, Mattel, Hasbro, Nickelodeon, Televisa, Tycoon, Warner Bros., Marvel and Lucas.  Under the terms of the agreement, Party City purchased an 85% interest in Granmark valued at approximately $22 million, with an agreement to purchase the remaining interest over the next three to five years.

Jim Harrison, CEO of Party City, said, “The acquisition of Granmark represents continued execution of our growth strategy, and substantially strengthens our presence in Latin America with a manufacturer that has a trusted name, a loyal customer base and broad retail and licensing partnerships.  We are extremely pleased to welcome Granmark and its almost 800 employees to the Party City family as we build our retail store base in Mexico and expand our distribution reach into Latin America.”

As part of a strategy to expand its global retail presence, Party City, along with its strategic franchise partner Grupo Oprimax, opened its first three stores in Mexico during 2016. As previously announced, plans call for the company and Grupo Oprimax to open a total of 80 Party City stores in Mexico over the next 10 years.

Harrison continued, “While this acquisition gives us sourcing directly in the market to support a growing franchise base there, it also gives us an opportunity to broaden Granmark’s product line and export our U.S.-manufactured party supplies across the region.”

Harrison concluded, “Latin America’s festive culture represents a prime market for party supplies.  Our alliance with Grupo Oprimax allows us to be the first to bring the party superstore concept to Mexico.  Now, with the acquisition of Granmark, we have local manufacturing and wholesale capabilities that will support this store base.”

About Party City

Party City Holdco Inc. is the leading party goods company by revenue in North America and, we believe, the largest vertically integrated supplier of decorated party goods globally by revenue. The Company is a popular one-stop shopping destination for party supplies, balloons, and costumes. In addition to being a great retail brand, the Company is a global, world-class organization that combines state-of-the-art manufacturing and sourcing operations, and sophisticated wholesale operations complemented by a multi-channel retailing strategy and e-commerce retail operations. The Company is the leading player in its category, vertically integrated and unique in its breadth and depth. Party City Holdco designs, manufactures, sources and distributes party goods, including paper and plastic tableware, metallic and latex balloons, Halloween and other costumes, accessories, novelties, gifts and stationery throughout the world. The Company’s retail operations include over 900 specialty retail party supply stores (including approximately 160 franchise stores) throughout North America operating under the names Party City and Halloween City, and e-commerce websites, principally through the domain name PartyCity.com.