Wildflowers from Burt's Bees

[Sherpa1]

Received my free wildflower seeds from Burt's Bees today. It contains seeds for Calendula, Shasta Daisy, Lance-Leaved Coreopsis, Plains Corespsis, Purple Coneflower, and Sweet William Catchfly. Thanks Burt.

[Tommy]

Got mine today also.

[WVbeekeeper]

I got five seed packets in the mail yeaterday. :) I can't wait to plant them this spring.

[danno1800]

Thanks Burt's Bees!

[Chef Isaac]

It is good to see a company that is doing something good to help out honeybees.

Anyone ever meet Burt?

[Barry Digman]

It is good to see a company that is doing something good to help out honeybees.

Anyone ever meet Burt?

Lest anyone think 'ol Burt is out in the bee yard packaging seeds....




Terms of Deal and Financial Impact
Under the terms of the agreement, Clorox will acquire 100 percent of Burt's Bees from its stockholders in a transaction that is structured as a merger. The company is acquiring Burt's Bees for $925 million net of an additional $25 million payment for anticipated tax benefits. Clorox will fund the all-cash transaction through a combination of cash and short-term borrowings. The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of this calendar year, is subject to regulatory approval.

Commenting on the transaction, Clorox senior vice president and CFO Dan Heinrich said, "Burt's Bees is poised to capitalize on expanded distribution within the U.S. and other countries in which the Burt's Bees® brand is currently marketed. The business is enjoying strong distribution trends. We believe we can add value and expand these trends over time through our strong customer capabilities, while maintaining Burt's Bees' higher margins. We see potential for expanding the brand into adjacencies, and we believe international expansion may offer significant upside potential beyond our valuation."

[BigDaddyDS]

Neither Burt, nor Roxanne Quimby, appear to have anything to do with the company anymore. In fact, per the Clorox company website (http://investors.thecloroxcompany.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=272197) , Clorox now owns them.

It appears that co-founder Roxanne Quimby bought out Burt Shavitz's shares of their company in 1993, and she later held a seat on the board of directors (holding 20% of the shares) after AEA Investors purchased Burt's Bees in 2004. No mention of Roxanne Quimby leaving the corporation is mentioned on the Burt's website, however she is no longer found on the company roster.

So, was there a Burt? Well, yes. In fact, he's still around. Is the person in the commercials/webcast actually Burt? Probably.

But, does Burt still own Burt's Bees? No way; Clorox does. Burt appears to be a paid actor now.

Whether or not he still messes with bees is unknown.

DS

[Chef Isaac]

This saddens me :(

[Ravenseye]

Roxanne caused quite a bit of trouble up North, buying land that she wants to ultimately turn into a federal park. Problem is, much of it would be closed to hunting, trapping, snowsledding, etc. A lot of the land that I used to hunt when I lived up in Maine would potentially be closed. There are just a TON of folks who live in the North country that despise the idea of woods that are closed to some people and open to others, not based on what the land needs but based on what Roxanne likes. As the project moved along, she found herself with thousands of acres as well as a highly vocal minority in Northern Maine that opposed any efforts affecting their livelihood. Today, she's less of a threat, leaving the park project to a non-profit that's just as dangerous but without the money.

I haven't bought Burt's Bee's products for a long, long time in spite of my love for honeybees. I just didn't feel right about funding someone who would end up paying their way towards changing my access to land. Conservation is key, not preservation. Roxanne had it all wrong. Just my two cents.

[BigDaddyDS]

Sorry Chef Issac...

It definitely had a "Santa Claus reveal" feeling when I was writing it.

DS

[berkshire bee]

Is it always the almighty dollar that rules? Why do they all cave in to big corporation pressure? I just told my wife that I"M never going to cave in or sell out.:) She practically fell on the floor laughing.

[Chef Isaac]

Big: What do you mean about Santa Clause? He is real, right!!! ;)

Well... at least they are doing something that is nice.

However, if we read into it a little, I wonder if those seeds are from Monsanto.

[Oldbee]

"This saddens me"................Chef Issac. Why? This is the land of opportunity, entrepreneurship!!!, [great for scrabble!], pull yo-self-up -by- yo- bootstraps country ain't it?? Think of "hula-hoop, "chia-pets". This was "discussed" awhile back,.. "bout people,.... [some] makin hundreds of zillions $$$$$$$$$$ and not payin no health insurnc. You is behind the "times"..........."Chef". . I'am sure Ol' Burt is feelin no pain.

[Barry Digman]

I actually think it's fine that a small company grows and gets bought out by a bigger one as long as the customers understand who they're dealing with and are getting what they're paying for. Wish I had something someone was willing to pay nearly a billion dollars for.

[danwyns]

Burt IS the real deal -- I met him in summer of 98or99 while on a rafting trip in TN/KY. He was selling creams, lotions, balms etc. from a picnic table on the porch of a cracker barrel restaurant-- a far cry from now. It didn't mean much to me at the time (I hadn't started playing with bees yet) -- just assumed he was a local beek trying to make a few extra $-- but a few years later stuff started showing up everywhere with his face on it. Having also met Ed Hillary I feel fortunate to have shaken hands (both massive) with two of the world's most famous beeks.