Nordic Business Report-January 4, 2007-Rapala VMC Corporation acquires two US fishing lures makers (C)1994-2007 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com Finnish fishing lures manufacturer Rapala VMC Corporation said on Thursday (4 January) that it has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the fishing tackle business of Outdoor Innovations LLC and Horizon Lures LP, US-based manufacturers and distributors of Terminator branded spinner baits and other fishing lures. The deal includes patents for the use of nickel titanium wire in fishing lures, trade marks, customer lists, inventories and some other assets. Currently the Terminator lures are produced in a subcontract facility in Mexico but the manufacturing will be transferred to Rapalas factory in Shenzhen, China. The deal will be consummated upon payment of an undisclosed cash sum. Rapala also said that it has agreed with Shimano, one of the leading manufacturers of rods and reels worldwide, to strengthen their distribution alliance. From the start of 2007 Rapalas Hungarian distribution company Rapala Eurohold Ltd in Budapest will become a South East European distribution centre. In addition to Rapala products it will distribute Shimano fishing tackle to Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia and Albania. In addition Rapala said that it will establish a fully owned sales company in South Korea to expand its distribution network in Asia. Rapala VMC, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, manufactures lures and other fishing gear in Finland, France, Ireland, Estonia and China. The company has just under 4,000 employees and reported net sales of EUR196.1m in 2005. Rapala VMC is listed on the Nordic Exchange in Helsinki. One British pound (GBP) is worth approximately 1.49 euros (EUR). ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected]))