Federated to sell Fingerhut, finally

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 6/12/2002 12:00:00 AM

Cincinnati — After months of negotiations and close calls with other suitors, Federated Department Stores Inc. announced today that it has reached a definitive agreement with FAC Acquisitions Llc for the purchase of certain Fingerhut assets.

Former Fingerhut chief executive Thomas Petters and Theodore Deikel, owner of a wholesale business in Eden Prairie, MN, are principals of FAC Acquisitions, which has already indicated a desire to rehire many former Fingerhut employees.

Assets included in the agreement include the distribution center and other facilities in St. Cloud, MN; the subsidiary's Minnetonka, MN, corporate headquarters; the data center in Plymouth, MN; the distribution center in Piney Flats, TN; and the Fingerhut name, website and existing inventory, as well as other miscellaneous property and equipment.

According to Federated, the final closing could take place within the next few weeks.