Authentic Brands buys Nine West and Bandolino brands for 340 million dollars

Nine West gets rid of its shoe and bag businesses. The company, owned by Sycamore, has sold the Nine West and Bandolino brands to Authetic Brands Group (ABG) for 340 million dollars (288.3 million euros).

Last April, Nine West filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection. Shortly after, the group started negotiations with ABG to sell both business units, as it focused on its profitable assets and restructures its balance sheet. The company continues to manage One Jeanswear Group, Jewelry Group, Kasper Group and Anne Klein.

ABG, owner of the Nautica and Aéropostale brands among others, won the auction by bidding more than 140 million dollars over its initial stalking horse bid. The deal between both groups will be closed once the transaction is approved by a bankruptcy court in Manhattan. After that, ABG will assume all the licensing partnerships and marketing initiatives for both brands.

Nine West filed for Chapter 11 in April and expects to leave the bankruptcy court next September

“We are pleased to have completed this important step in our restructuring and are now focused on moving forward with the reorganization of our remaining businesses with the support of our key stakeholder groups”, said Ralph Schipani, chief executive officer of Nine West.

Nine West, which has been restructuring for several years, expects to exit bankruptcy next September. In 2014, Sycamore took over Jones Group, back then owner of the retail chain, in an agreement that valued the company as a whole at 2.2 billion dollars. Sycamore proceeded then to split up the business into different units and sold two of its brands: Stuart Weitzman and Kurt Geiger.