Franklin Quest Co., the Salt Lake-based time- management firm whose best known product is the Franklin Day Planner, said Tuesday it has signed an agreement to acquire Shipley Associates, a business-training firm based in Bountiful.
Purchase price at closing - expected to take place by Feb. 1 - is anticipated to be $23 million, to be paid in cash with funds held "in house," said Arlen B. Crouch, president and chief operating officer of Franklin Quest.Shipley is a 20-year-old international business communications and training firm. Its sales for fiscal 1993 ended ended July 31 were $13 million, up 32 percent over the previous year. The company provides consulting, training, customized project development services and products designed to help clients improve their efficiency and productivity.
Shipley employs 200, most of them at its Salt Lake operation. Crouch said all Shipley employees, including company president Richard Shipley, would be hired by Franklin and would retain their current positions.
Crouch also said the Shipley name would be retained "at least for the present time" and the company will be operated as a division of Franklin Quest.
The acquisition of Shipley will add a new line of services and products to Franklin's inventory, said Crouch.
"We believe this acquisition will strengthen Franklin Quest's profitability and capacity to accomplish long-range growth objectives," he said.
"It represents our commitment to corporate and individual customers to offer new products and services that enhance personal productivity."
Shipley is the first acquisition by Franklin Quest "but probably not the last," said Crouch. He said the deal has been discussed for a year or two "but got serious last month."
Franklin Quest provides training seminars and products, such as the Franklin Day Planner, that are designed to improve individual productivity through better time management.
Launched in 1983, Franklin Quest currently has 1,600 employees, about two-thirds of whom work in Utah and the rest in other states.
Franklin Quest has had nine consecutive years of growth, topped by record revenues of $165 million in fiscal 1993 ended Aug. 31, a 37 percent increase over the previous year.
Net income for fiscal '93 totaled $23.4 million, up 41 percent from fiscal '92. Earnings per share increased in '93 to $1.10, up from 93 cents.
Earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 1994, ended Nov. 30, also set a new quarterly earnings record of $9.9 million, up 30 percent over the first quarter of 1993. Earnings per share were 46 cents, up from 36 cents a year ago. Sales for the quarter increased 28 percent to $56.4 million.
Sales at Franklin's 39 retail stores also reached record levels in the first quarter, up 67 percent to $12.1 million. Franklin opened 11 new stores in eight states during the first quarter.
First-quarter catalog sales increased 16 percent, direct product sales were up 85 percent, and seminar sales grew 11 percent. The company says some 2.6 million people now use the Franklin Quest system.
Last June, Franklin Quest made a secondary offering of 3.1 million shares of its stock, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. As of Oct. 21, there were 372 shareholders.