Mainland firm to buy second isle dry cleaner

U.S. Dry Cleaning is acquiring a second isle laundry chain

The California-based company that bought Young Laundry & Drycleaning two years ago has agreed to acquire a second Honolulu dry cleaning operation.

U.S. Dry Cleaning Corp., the nation's first publicly-traded dry cleaner, based in Palm Springs, Calif., will purchase Robinson Corp., which operates four Caesars Cleaners stores and a central plant in Honolulu, for $2.15 million in cash, convertible and assumed debt and shares of the buyer's common stock.

The acquisition, set to close by year's end, is expected to increase annual revenue by $2.25 million and raise revenue for its Hawaiian operations by 40 percent.

FULL STORY »

Two years after merging with Young Laundry & Drycleaning, a California company has agreed to acquire another local dry-cleaning chain, Caesars Cleaners.

U.S. Dry Cleaning Corp., the nation's first publicly-traded dry cleaner, based in Palm Springs, Calif., will purchase Robinson Corp., which operates four Caesars Cleaners stores and a central plant in Honolulu, for $2.15 million in cash, convertible and assumed debt and shares of the buyer's common stock.

The acquisition, set to close by year's end, is expected to increase U.S. Dry Cleaning's annual revenue by $2.25 million and raise revenue for its Hawaii operations by 40 percent, according to U.S. Dry Cleaning, which initially started in Hawaii in 2005 to acquire Young Laundry, the first commercial laundry in the islands.

The buyer will retain all 48 workers at Caesars Cleaners, which generates $2 million in annual revenue, said Michael Drace, U.S. Dry Cleaning president and chief operating officer, who has owned Young Laundry since 1995.

Young Laundry has between 125 and 130 employees at its 13 locations and operating plant on Oahu.

U.S. Dry Cleaning is considering closing one of the operating plants, though it isn't considering any store closures, Drace said.

"The benefit is to be able to get more efficiency out of your equipment, people and locations," he said.

The company is looking to acquire more companies on Oahu, though it has no plans to expand to the neighbor islands, he said.

U.S. Dry Cleaning currently operates several locations on the mainland and has recently announced four other pending acquisitions, primarily on the West Coast. The company also is acquiring a Fresno, Calif., dry cleaning business, Team Industries, which has annual revenues of $6.5 million.

In the past 18 months, U.S. Dry Cleaning has completed acquisitions with combined annual revenues of more than $9 million. The pending transactions are expected to bring the company's total annualized revenue for its five businesses to more than $18.7 million. The local acquisition is expected to increase the combined revenue of both Young Laundry and Caesars Cleaners to more than $7.6 million, Drace said.

Caesars Cleaners has been owned and operated since 1972 by Thurston "Jack" Robinson, who is retiring after 35 years.