The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Dreams, Inc., adds University of Texas Athletics to syndication portfolio
07.28.2010 | Texas Athletics
July 28, 2010
PLANTATION, Fla. -- Dreams, Inc. (NYSE Amex: DRJ), a vertically integrated leader in the licensed sports products industry, announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Collegiate Marketing Services (CMS) of Overland Park, Kan. CMS has since 2005 managed the retail, game day and online merchandise operations for The University of Texas Athletics program. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition, when completed, will include the management of Longhorns, Ltd., retail operations at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and other UT sports venues, as well as the official online store LonghornsLtd.com. Dreams is launching the new official Longhorns store on its propriety e-commerce platform.
"The acquisition of CMS brings one of the nation's most respected and largest college programs into our syndication portfolio," stated Kevin Bates, president of Dreams Retail, a division of Dreams, Inc. "We are fully committed to the Longhorns brand and will work relentlessly to grow their business, enhance their customer experience, and represent Texas as the premier college in the country."
Bates added, "This acquisition also marks our entrance into game day stadium operations, thus opening a whole new channel of business for us. Over the past few years, we have been strategically populating our roster with many game day stadium operations experts. We now have an experienced management staff with more than 80 years of collective experience running stadium operations, satellite stores and other team retail events for more than 20 different professional teams and colleges. This will allow us to deliver a comprehensive retail solution to current and prospective clients that are looking for a provider who excels both at e-commerce and in-stadium operations and merchandising."
Steve Ballard, CEO of CMS, stated, "Dreams' acquisition of CMS will be a big win for both companies. The strength of CMS's game day and retail management will now be merged with the top online merchandise platform in the business. The ability to maximize sales across all channels of business for our clients is exciting. We are thrilled to be joining such a successful and fast growing organization."
Dreams anticipates a swift closing which is subject to Board of Directors and bank approvals.
