As ABG Files for IPO, Its Acquisition Streak May Be Just Getting Started

Authentic Brands Group Inc., the company behind dozens of recent headline-making brand and retailer acquisitions, including Forever 21 and Barneys New York, has filed for an initial public offering. The New York-based company has built a fast-growing business by snapping up the intellectual property of well-known brands in fashion, footwear and entertainment and taking charge of brand strategy and marketing while licensing out the more capital-intensive responsibilities such as inventory management and store operations. Today, it has a portfolio of more than 30 brands, including Nine West, Juicy Couture, Frye, Eddie Bauer, Tretorn, Bandolino, Sports Illustrated, Marilyn Monroe, and Shaquille O’Neal. With Simon Property Group Inc., the largest mall owner in the US, it also co-owns a company that operates Nautica, Forever 21, Aéropostale, Lucky Brand and Brooks Brothers, which together generated $2.6 billion in global retail sales last year amid the pandemic. While ABG’s valuation was not included in Tuesday’s filing, Bloomberg News has reported that the company could be worth about $10 billion. In 2019, when the investment firm BlackRock purchased a 30% stake in the company for $875 million, ABG was valued at around $4 billion to $4.5 billion, founder and CEO Jamie Salter told CNBC. In recent years, the company

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