Lifetime Brands Inc. recently announced it has acquired the business and certain assets of Easy Aces Inc., which operates under the name Fred® & Friends (F&F). F&F designs and markets novelty housewares and other products under the Fred brand.

“Lifetime’s access to international markets in Europe, Mexico, Brazil and China provides opportunities to introduce Fred products into new markets and distribution channels,” said Jeffrey Siegel, chairman, president and CEO of Lifetime. “At the same time, Lifetime will benefit from F&F’s strong relationships with independent specialty stores, which should enable Lifetime to increase distribution of our recently introduced Savora® line of unique upscale kitchen tools and gadgets, which is targeted to this retail segment.”

“Our very motivated and talented team looks forward to becoming a part of Lifetime,” said Frederick A. Roses, F&F’s founder and ‘Head Fred.’ “We’ll get to keep doing what we’re best at—designing products that put smiles on peoples’ faces and working with our designers, suppliers and customers—and let the folks at Lifetime take care of the rest.”

For additional information, visit www.lifetimebrands.com or www.fredandfriends.com.