Payless to buy Stride Rite for $800 million

Payless Shoe Source today said it is buying Stride Rite Corp., the Lexington footwear company, for about $800 million plus the assumption of debt.

Stride Rite owns or licenses upscale brands including Sperry Topsider, Tommy Hilfiger, and Saucony.

The transaction will bring together Payless’ nearly 4,600 stores and Stride Rite’s athletic and lifestyle branded footwear.

The combined company will be renamed Collective Brands Inc; as a holding company, it will operate three stand-alone business units.

Stride Rite’s headquarters will remain in Lexington.

Collective Brands will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and will be based in Topeka, Kan., along with Payless ShoeSource.

The deal will create value for Stride Rite shareholders and provide supply-chain efficiencies and greater resources to expand the business, Stride Rite’s chief executive, David Chamberlin, said in a prepared statement.
(By Jenn Abelson, Globe staff)