Announcement of Proposed Public Offering of 4,000,000 Common Stock
West Caldwell, New Jersey - February 24, 1999 - The Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc. (Nasdaq: today announced that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed underwritten public offering of 4,000,000 shares of common stock to be sold by existing stockholders. Of this amount, 2,700,000 shares are being offered by affiliates of Saunders, Karp & Megrue, L.P., a private equity investment firm, with the remaining 1,300,000 shares being offered by certain senior officers and directors of the Company. Following the offering, the selling stockholders will continue to own a majority of the Company's outstanding common stock. The Children's Place will receive no proceeds from the proposed offering.
The offering will be underwritten by BT Alex. Brown and Merrill Lynch & Co. as co-lead managers, with Hambrecht & Quist, NationsBanc Montgomery Securities, LLC and Thomas Weisel Partners, LLC as co-managers. A prospectus relating to this proposed offering may be obtained from BT Alex. Brown, One South Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202.
A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. The securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.
The Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc. is a specialty retailer of apparel and accessories for children from newborn to 12 years of age. The Company designs, sources, and markets its products under the "The Children's Place" brand name. As of January 30, 1999, the Company operated 209 stores located primarily in regional shopping malls in the eastern half of the United States.