Premier Hobby Distribution LLC and Centurion Hobby Distributors, Inc. will merge as Premier Hobby Distribution, LLC, with the company to be called 'PHD.'  Owners of both merging companies will own shares in the new company.  The transaction is expected to close by June 1st.

 

Premier president Sito Sanchez will be president of the combined companies.  Centurion president Michael Cox will run the New Jersey operation with a title to be determined.  The two companies' warehouses, in Bridgewater, New Jersey and Orlando, Florida, will both continue to operate. 

 

Asked about the motivation for the transaction, Sanchez said, 'There's a lot of business to be had in the Northeast.  And it will be a great combination of the Centurion and Premier product mixes.'

 

Cox concurred.  'It's a different world; we needed these lines,' he said of some of the major suppliers of Premier, which has the crucial Wizards of the Coast and Upper Deck accounts that Centurion lacked. 

 

In addition to the two major suppliers named above, Premier's sourcing relationships bring other collectible game lines, comic and card supplies, and toys and statues to the Centurion combined companies.  Centurion's lines contribute strength in children's games, RPGs, and board games. 

 

No positions will be eliminated in the transaction; a search is underway for sales help for the Northeast location.