Burton Finalizes Acquisition of Forum, Jeenyus, Foursquare and Special Blend Snowboard Brands

    BURLINGTON, Vt., Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Burton has closed the previously
 announced acquisition of Forum, Jeenyus, Foursquare and Special Blend from
 Four Star Distribution.  Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
     The acquisition will add four new product lines to Burton's existing
 family of brands.  Each brand will remain autonomous in terms of identity,
 consumer following, team riders and product offerings.  The collection of
 brands will stay on the West Coast, but will relocate from its present
 location in San Clemente to a new location in Orange County.  Burton has
 encouraged the sales, marketing and product staff at Forum and its sister
 brands to remain in their existing positions and continue to work for the
 brands.
     "We're excited that the deal is finalized so we can focus on making great
 product," said Laurent Potdevin, Burton's President.  "Our plan for the
 immediate future is pretty simple -- we're going to give these brands the
 support and resources they need to reach their full potential.  Everyone at
 Burton is committed to making this happen."
     "Going into the acquisition, we all knew it was going to be a big job to
 get it done," said Jake Burton, founder and owner of Burton.  "Having
 completed the transactional phase of the deal, I have been amazed at the
 performance of our people and the crew at Four Star Distribution in the
 process.  I'm confident the future of these brands is in good hands."
     Consumers can learn more about Burton Snowboards by calling Burton Rider
 Service: (800) 881-3138.
     Burton Snowboards, the world's first snowboard factory, is a pure
 snowboard company solely dedicated to creating and perfecting a full range of
 the best snowboarding equipment on the planet.  Founded in 1977, Burton has
 fueled the growth of snowboarding worldwide through its team of top
 snowboarders and successful programs such as Learn To Ride (LTR), the Chill
 Foundation and the Open Snowboarding Championships.  Headquartered in
 Burlington, Vermont with international offices in Innsbruck, Austria and
 Tokyo, Japan, Burton has been the industry leader since its inception.
     This release can be downloaded from our press website:
 http://press.burton.com.  Your user name is "burtonpress05" and the password
 is "cartel".
 
      Laurent Potdevin
      President of Burton
      (802) 660-3205
 
 

SOURCE  Burton