Steve Madden Scoops up Private-Label Shoemaker for $55M

Steve Madden (NASDAQ:SHOO) announced Monday it has completed its purchase of privately-owned shoe designer Topline Corp. for $55 million as part of its effort to expand its private-label footwear business.

Topline, which owns brands such as Report, Report Signature and R2 by Report, had sales of roughly $189 million in 2010. The company sells its trend-right footwear to specialty retailers and department stores.

The maker of shoes under the brands Steven Madden, Madden Girl and Betsey Johnson said it expects the transaction to be immediately accretive to its shares, contributing 5 cents to 7 cents a share in its first full year under Madden’s ownership after giving effect to the company’s recent 3-for-2 stock split.

“We are extremely pleased to complete the acquisition of Topline,” Steven Madden CEO Edward Rosenfeld said in a statement. “Topline’s private label business is one of the best in our industry and is highly complementary to our existing private label footwear business.”

Steven Madden, which also expects to benefit from Topline’s direct sourcing platform, said the deal includes an earn-out provision based on financial performance through June 30, 2012.