Exhibit 99
THE SCOTTS COMPANY NEWS
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SCOTTS COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF SMITH & HAWKEN
LEADING OUTDOOR LIVING BRAND OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE GROWTH
MARYSVILLE, Ohio (October 4, 2004) - The Scotts Company (NYSE: SMG), the world's
largest marketer of branded products for consumer lawn and garden care, has
completed the previously announced acquisition of Smith & Hawken, Ltd., a
leading brand in the fast growing outdoor living and garden lifestyle category.
"We're glad to welcome Smith & Hawken to our family of industry-leading
brands and look forward to maximizing the potential that this acquisition
presents for Scotts," said Jim Hagedorn, chairman and chief executive officer.
"This acquisition is a natural step for Scotts. The Smith & Hawken brand is the
gold standard in outdoor living and fits with our strategy to extend into
adjacent lawn and garden categories."
Barry Gilbert will continue to lead Smith & Hawken and will report to
Bob Bernstock, president of the North America business for Scotts. Gilbert and
his management team will remain in Novato, Calif., where Smith & Hawken is
located.
The purchase price of Smith & Hawken is approximately $68.5 million,
which includes the value of acquired tax benefits. The cash portion of the
purchase price was funded with cash on hand as permitted by the Company's
existing credit facility.
Smith & Hawken products are sold through its 56 retail stores around
the United States as well as through catalog and Internet sales. The business
has also extended its brand into other retail channels with its successful
"store-within-a-store" concept in garden centers across the country. Hagedorn
said expansion of the Smith & Hawken brand through additional channels of
distribution will be a key part of Scotts' growth strategy.
"Barry Gilbert's team has done an excellent job building the Smith &
Hawken brand and has created an entrepreneurial culture that is very much like
Scotts," Hagedorn said. "We look forward to working with our new associates - as
well as our retail partners - as together we strive to take the Smith & Hawken
brand to new heights."
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About The Scotts Company
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DEDICATED TO A BEAUTIFUL WORLD: The Scotts Company, with sales of more than $2
billion, is the world's leading supplier of consumer products for lawn and
garden care, with a full range of products for professional horticulture as
well. The Company owns the industry's most recognized brands. In the U.S., the
Company's Scotts(R), Miracle-Gro(R) and Ortho(R) brands are market leading in
their categories, as is the consumer Roundup(R) brand, which is marketed in
North America and most of Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto.
The Company also owns Smith & Hawken, a leading brand of garden inspired
products that includes pottery, watering equipment, gardening tools, outdoor
furniture and live goods. In the U.K., Scotts' brands include Weedol(R) and
Pathclear(R), the top-selling consumer herbicides; Evergreen(R), the leading
lawn fertilizer line; the Levington(R) line of lawn and garden products; and
Miracle-Gro(R). The Company also owns and operates Scotts LawnService(R), a
leading provider of professional lawn service in the United States.
STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION ACT OF 1995: Certain of the
statements contained in this press release, including, but not limited to,
information regarding the future economic performance and financial condition of
the company, the plans and objectives of the company's management, and the
company's assumptions regarding such performance and plans are forward looking
in nature. Actual results could differ materially from the forward looking
information in this release, due to a variety of factors, including, but not
limited to:
o Adverse weather conditions could adversely affect the Company's sales
and financial results;
o The Company's historical seasonality could impair the Company's
ability to pay obligations as they come due and operating expenses;
o The Company's substantial indebtedness could adversely affect the
Company's financial health;
o Public perceptions regarding the safety of the Company's products
could adversely affect the Company;
o The loss of one or more of the Company's top customers could adversely
affect the Company's financial results because of the concentration of
the Company's sales to a small number of retail customers;
o The expiration of certain patents could substantially increase the
Company's competition in the United States;
o Compliance with environmental and other public health regulations
could increase the Company's cost of doing business; and
o The Company's significant international operations make the Company
more susceptible to fluctuations in currency exchange rates and to the
costs of international regulation.
Additional detailed information concerning a number of the important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward looking
information contained in this release is readily available in the company's
publicly filed quarterly, annual, and other reports.
CONTACT:
Jim King
Director, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
(937) 578-5622
Jim.King@Scotts.com
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