Authentic Brands to Buy Majority Stake in DB Ventures

Authentic Brands Group will buy a majority stake in the brand management company DB Ventures, which is owned by former soccer player David Beckham, Bloomberg reported Monday (Jan. 3).

The deal will go forward for 200 million pounds, and Authentic Brands will gain a 55% stake in Beckham’s company.

Authentic Brands will be able to garner revenue from Beckham, who retired in 2013 and has spent the time since then doing things like supporting Tudor watches and other brands.

DB Ventures is responsible for the rights of several stars like Elvis Presley and Shaquille O’Neal, who is also a big investor in Authentic Brands.

Founded in 2010, Authentic Brands has since teamed with mall landlords to purchase several retailers, including Aeropostale and Brooks Brothers, which had been sliding into bankruptcy.

Authentic Brands also bought Reebok, the sneaker brand, for $2.5 billion from Adidas AG last August.

Authentic Brands filed to go public last year and has shelved that plan after agreeing in November to sell a 25% stake to CVC Capital Partners and HPS Investment Partners. PYMNTS wrote about the shelving of the initial public offering (IPO) plan, writing that the stakes were sold at a $12.7 billion valuation.

See also: Authentic Brands Group Shelves IPO Plans

Instead, CEO Jamie Salter has said the company plans to target 2023 or 2024 for an IPO, after filing the paperwork in July. Salter told CNBC in an interview that the IPO climate was “ridiculous” and that the company would’ve gotten a likely very large valuation.

Salter said Authentic Brands was looking for a $10 billion valuation to go public, but Salter said he’d “rather be private.”

Under the current arrangement, CVC and HPS will both get seats on the board now that the deal has closed.

Authentic’s biggest shareholder will still be BlackRock, while other investors include Simon Property Group, General Atlantic, Leonard Green & Partners, Brookfield and O’Neal.