SECRET ADMIRER Merchandise agency Bensussen, Deutsch & Associates, Seattle, acquired Los Angeles-based Secret Identitee, a promotional products supplier for the entertainment industry. The deal helped BDA launch a new sports and entertainment marketing division led by former Secret Identitee head Marc Sirkin.
LOOKING NORTH Milmour Products, Skokie, IL, purchased Incent Innovations, Toronto, which will retain its name and function as a specialized division offering gift-with-purchase premiums, in-pack and on-pack promotions, and mail-in offers for packaged goods companies.
FINGER FLIPPING Federated Department Stores, Cincinnati, struck a preliminary agreement to sell its Fingerhut Companies catalog operation to Business Development Group Acquisitions, Inc., Wayzata, MN. In January, Federated said Fingerhut no longer fit the company's strategic vision.
SWEET TOOTH FS Acquisition Corp., a unit of Greenwich, CT-based investment firm Catterton Partners, completed its purchase of the Farley & Sathers confectionery business from Kraft Foods, Glenview, IL. The deal includes the Farley and Sathers brand names as well as six distribution facilities.
WHALE OF A DEAL Heaven Hill Distilleries, Bardstown, KY, bought the Whaler's Rum brand from Mira Loma, CA-based Levecke Corp. The new owners will kick off marketing with an extensive campaign that will feature sampling, local marketing, P-O-P, and viral components. Keller Crescent, Evansville, IN, will handle.
