A hearing is scheduled for Monday, July 9 in Woodland Hills bankruptcy court to set the terms for the auction the assets of Ronco Corp., the iconic household gadget maker. Private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners LLC has tentatively agreed to acquire the assets of the company, which was famous for its Veg-O-Matic and Pocket Fisherman products, for $10 million in cash plus the assumption of certain debts. Pitchman Ron Popeil, who appeared in many of Ronco’s ads, sold the company about two years ago to a group of private investors. Popeil founded the company in 1964 selling inventions made by his father. In the 1970s, Popeil began to develop his own products. The products were supported by media campaigns that ran during off hours and became famous for phrases such as, “but wait, there’s more.” The products and the advertising that supported them were further popularized by numerous comedians including Dan Ackroyd on “Saturday Night Live.” CORRECTION July 23, 2007 The story above incorrectly attributed the creation of the Ginsu knife. The knife was created by Ed Valenti and Barry Becher, according to Ginsuguys.com, and is currently owned and manufactured by a division of Berkshire Hathaway. Valenti is currently the founder and CEO of PriMedia.
