Burpee Seed Sold To Private Investors Price Undisclosed For Bucks County Co.

By FREDERICK H. LOWE, Daily News Staff Writer
Posted: April 01, 1987

W. Atlee Burpee Co., the world's largest mail-order seed company, has been sold to a group of private investors for an undisclosed price.

Harvey Snyder, a Burpee spokesman, said Clayton & Dublier, a New York investment group, agreed Friday to sell the firm to B.T. and Wicks Capital, two New York investor groups, and to Burpee's current management.

Clayton & Dublier purchased Burpee, whose headquarters are in Warminster, Bucks County, from ITT Corp. in December. ITT Corp. owned Burpee from 1979 to 1986.

After last week's sale took place, William N. Englehart, the company's president and chief executive officer, said:

"The Burpee management team is very pleased to see the business return to an independent entrepreneurial enterprise."

The company was founded in 1876 by W. Atlee Burpee. It has introduced a variety of well-known vegetables, including Iceberg Lettuce, introduced in 1894; and Golden Bantam Corn, introduced in 1902. It is also known for its Big Boy Hybrid Tomatoes.

Snyder said that during the company's peak mail-order season, which begins in November and ends in April, Burpee employs 500 temporary and part-time workers.

Burpee employs about 200 workers year-round, he said.

In addition to its headquarters in Warminster, the company has a research and development ranch in Santa Paula, Calif. The ranch is used to develop hybrid vegetables, Snyder said.

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