BOCA RATON, Fla., July 26, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Q.E.P. Co., Inc. (Nasdaq:QEPC) (the "Company") announced that last week it sold substantially all of the assets of Q.E.P. Stone Holdings, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. The Stone Holdings operation manufactures dry set powders and grouts in Georgia and Florida. The Company intends to use the proceeds, after reduction for liabilities retained, to invest in its core businesses and to reduce its bank debt. The net proceeds will be disclosed in the Company's upcoming Form 10-Q for the fiscal second quarter ended August 31, 2007, to be filed with the SEC.
Q.E.P. Co., Inc., founded in 1979, is a leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of a broad line of flooring tools and accessories for the home improvement market. Under brand names including QEP(r), ROBERTS(r), Capitol(r), Vitrex(r) and Elastiment(tm), the Company markets over 3,000 specialty tools and flooring related products used primarily for surface preparation and installation of ceramic tile, carpet, vinyl and wood flooring. The Company sells its products to home improvement retail centers and specialty distribution outlets in 50 states and around the world.
Certain statements in this press release, including statements relating to the Company's intention to invest the proceeds of the Stone Holdings Transaction in the Company's core businesses and repayment of debt, are forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this report and are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and from historical results of operations. Among the risks and uncertainties that could cause such a difference are our assumptions relating to the expected growth in sales of our products, the continued success of our manufacturing processes, continued increases in the cost of raw materials and finished goods, improvements in productivity and cost reductions, the continued success of initiatives with certain of our customers, the success of our price increases initiatives, the success of our sales and marketing efforts and other business and economic factors. A more detailed discussion of risks attendant to the forward-looking statements included in this press release are set forth in the "Forward-Looking Statements" section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended February 28, 2007, filed with the SEC, and in other reports already filed with the SEC.