Brooks Brothers Seeks Court Approval For $305M Stalking Horse Bid

Brooks Brothers is seeking court approval for a $305 million stalking horse deal it reached with SPARC Group LLC, which is partly owned by Authentic Brands Group (ABG). SPARC has also committed to acquiring a minimum of 125 Brooks Brothers stores, according to a Thursday (July 23) announcement.

The retailer said it filed a motion in United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to receive the go-ahead for the asset purchase deal with SPARC. The deal is subject to court approval as well as any higher or more attractive potential bids as part of the retailer’s continuing auction process.

A court hearing is scheduled for August 3. Brooks Brothers is asking that the last day for rival bids is scheduled for Aug. 5 and wants a hearing to give the green light to the sale to occur on August 11.

A competitor to ABG, WHP Global Inc., is getting an offer ready for Brooks Brothers as well, The Wall Street Journal reported. WHP CEO Yehuda Shmidman said, per the report, “It’s early innings in the Brooks Brothers bankruptcy sale process … we are big believers in the power of the Brooks Brothers brand, the global footprint and the management team.”

New York-based ABG, for its part, is the owner of a number of famous brands. Its names have a worldwide retail footprint in over 100,000 points of sale through a wide array of physical and digital channels and over 5,500 freestanding retail locations and shops-in-shops globally.

ABG’s collection of well-known and legendary brands includes Aéropostale, Nautica, Sports Illustrated, Forever 21 and Nine West, among others.

In mid-July, news surfaced that Brooks Brothers had secured an $80 million loan sans interest after the company made a bankruptcy filing. Garrett Fail, the attorney for the retailer, said to Christopher Sontchi, a U.S. bankruptcy judge, “I’m convinced the terms will be the best that can be achieved,” per a past report.