Apparently, the crisis affecting the two-hundred-year-old US luxury brand is at a turning point. Reportedly, among a number of bids, which still require assessment, Brooks Brothers have two potential buyers, whose rather sound interest in the acquisition is to be taken seriously. In the meantime, the brand, owned by Italian Claudio Del Vecchio, has filed for Chapter 11, that is bankruptcy reorganization, as reported by international press.
Brooks Brothers have two potential buyers
Who are the two potential buyers who are most likely to acquire the US brand? WWD made public the news. The former is Authentic Brands Group (which currently controls, among others, Volcom), together with Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners. Such partnership, as highlighted by the newspaper, has been running smoothly for a while: in fact, last February, they bought out, on the same asset, Forever 21. On top of that, ABG may rely on about 800 million US dollars provided by BlackRock Capital right to support financially a takeover and buyout campaign. The latter is WHP Global, a company founded in 2019 by Yehuda Shmidman. As remarked by WWD, they are a smaller-sized potential buyer, though they may benefit from 350 million US dollars recently allocated by Oaktree Capital Management. Just for the records, guess what, the estimated worth of Brooks Brothers is right 350 million US dollars.
A group composed of Italians and Chinese
Another potential buyer of Brooks Brothers is a group composed of Italians and Chinese. As reported by Il Sole 24 Ore, an Italian daily newspaper, the group took action to assess the deal even before Covid-19 crisis. Dentons law firm will provide them with assistance in the States. They have also drafted a recovery plan for the brand. After an early restructuring stage, focused on distribution and supply (less physical and more digital), in the following five years a real growth would actually take place. The aim is to reach 3 billion US dollars, in terms of earnings.
Picture taken from americanamanhasset.com
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