Fort Worth, TX, March 21, 2006--Shares of housewares retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc., fell Monday after the company said it has sold its U.K.-based subsidiary, Pier Retail Group Ltd., to Iceland's Palli Ltd., for about $15 million.
The company said it will record a pretax impairment charge of about $7 million in its fiscal fourth quarter for its investment in the subsidiary, which operates about 40 stores in the U.K. and Ireland under The Pier brand name.
Palli is a subsidiary of Iceland-based Lagerinn ehf.
Shares of Pier 1 were down 32 cents, or nearly 3 percent, to $11.30 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $8.50 to $19.
