Liberty is buying Utah firm

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), May 8, 2007 | by Brice Wallace Deseret Morning News

Park City-based Backcountry.com, a Web-based retailer of outdoor and sports equipment, will become part of Liberty Media Corp., the companies said Monday.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the companies said the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter.

The companies said the definitive agreement calls for Liberty Media to acquire a controlling stake in Backcountry.com.

Backcountry.com, a member of the Inc. 500, operates e-commerce sites Backcountry.com, BackcountryOutlet.com, TramDock.com, DogFunk.com, SteepandCheap.com and WhiskeyMilitia.com.

Mike Geraci, a spokesman for Backcountry.com, said little will change with the company.

"Everything is going to stay the same with management and the structure," Geraci said. "Everybody's staying on board. They're not moving. They're staying in Park City and Salt Lake City, so there's not much that's going to change."

Founded in 1996, Backcountry.com has about 80 employees in Park City and about 220 at a 200,000-square-foot distribution center in West Valley City.

"I think Backcountry had several suitors, and one of the reasons they went with Liberty is their hands-off philosophy toward the people they acquire," Geraci said.

Denver-based Liberty Media Corp. has interests in electronic retailing, media, communications and entertainment businesses. It said its interest in Backcountry.com will be attributed to the Liberty Interactive group, a part of the company that also has interests in QVC, Provide Commerce, IAC/InterActiveCorp and Expedia. The Liberty Capital group has interests in Starz Entertainment, News Corp. and Time Warner.

A Backcountry.com official in January said the company, armed with a $1.37 million tax-rebate incentive from the state, planned to spend more than $4.8 million to increase operations in Park City and West Valley City and add about 1,250 new jobs. In documents filed with the state, the company said it was expecting sales to grow nearly 500 percent over the next five years.

Geraci said he believed the Liberty acquisition would have no effect on those expansion plans. "They're being left alone," he said of Backcountry.com. "Liberty really likes where Backcountry is going, and they're pretty psyched to help them get there."

Attempts to contact Jim Holland, Backcountry.com chief executive officer and co-founder, were unsuccessful Monday. However, in a prepared statement, Holland said "there is no better ally for Backcountry.com than Liberty Media."

"Their experience, resources and philosophy will enable us to improve our services and capacity on every level while maintaining the independent spirit and culture that has been integral to Backcountry.com's success. We are excited to work with the Liberty team," Holland said.

Backcountry.com's president and co-founder, John Bresee, described Liberty Media as "a pioneer in e-commerce. We're excited to take Backcountry.com to the next level with them."

Michael Zeisser, senior vice president of Liberty Media, said in a prepared statement that Backcountry.com is "a fast-growing leader in e-commerce and a pioneer in social commerce."

"We look forward to driving collaboration among Backcountry and its world-class outdoor brands and Liberty's existing e-commerce and television companies," Zeisser said. "This investment in Backcountry represents another step in our stated strategy to seek acquisitions of commerce companies that have unique value propositions, outstanding management teams and strong track records to drive the continued growth of the group of assets attributed to Liberty Interactive."

E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com