Department 56 Closes Lenox Sale

Collectible and gift retailer Department 56 has completed its acquisition of Lenox Inc. from Brown-Forman Corp. for $196 million in cash. Lenox markets fine china, crystal, silver and flatware under the Lenox, Dansk and Gorham brands, primarily through retail outlets, catalogs, direct mail and the Internet. The company generated net sales of $465 million in the fiscal year ended April 2005.