19 Dec Jones Group Nears Deal to Be Sold to Sycamore Partners
Private-equity firm Sycamore Partners is nearing a deal to buy Jones Group Inc., the owner of Nine West, for $15 a share, a transaction that would value the retailer at about $1.2 billion, according to various reports.
The company, the owner of Jones New York, Nine West, Stuart Weitzman and other fashion apparel and shoe brands, put itself up for sale this summer after the activist hedge fund Barington Capital Group acquired about 2 percent of the company and began pushing for disposals of some of its brands. Citigroup Inc. was hired to evaluate options, including a sale.
Sycamore had teamed up with KKR & Co. to make a joint offer for Jones Group in earlier bidding rounds before the latter dropped out of the process. G-III Apparel Group, which recently acquired G.H. Bass, was also said to be among the earlier bidders.
The $15 a share price is about 11 percent above the stock’s price before news of a possible deal leaked in November
Jones Group’s brands and licensing agreements (L) include: Nine West, Jones New York, Anne Klein, Kurt Geiger, Rachel Roy (L), Robert Rodriguez, Robbi & Nikki, Stuart Weitzman, Brian Atwood (L), Boutique 9, Easy Spirit, Carvela, Gloria Vanderbilt, l.e.i., Bandolino, Enzo Angiolini, Nine & Co., GLO, Joan & David, Miss KG, Kasper, Energie, Evan-Picone, Le Suit, Mootsies Tootsies, Grane, Erika, Napier, Jessica Simpson (L), Givenchy (L), Judith Jack, Albert Nipon, Pappagallo and Rafe (L).