FINANCE

2013 Newsmaker: Apparel Mergers & Acquisitions

Some very big apparel deals went down this year with half of them involving some important names in the premium-denim arena.

True Religion, one of Los Angeles’ best-known blue-jeans companies, which was co-founded in 2002 by Jeff Lubell and his now ex-wife, Kym Lubell Gold, went for $824 million, surpassing the $775 million sale of premium-denim label 7 For All Mankind to VF Corp. in 2007. The buyer of True Religion was TowerBrook Capital Partners, which has offices in New York and London.

Since the purchase was made earlier this year, a host of new executives have come on board. David Conn was named chief executive while Eric Bauer took over as chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

Also this year, Joe’s Jeans acquired Hudson Clothing in a deal that basically merges the two Los Angeles companies into one. Joe’s Jeans, whose principal designer is Joe Dahan, paid $97.5 million for Hudson, which is a designer and marketer of denim pants and other apparel. Marc Crossman, chief executive of Joe’s Jeans, said the acquisition made sense because combining the two companies would save money on the operational side.

New York–based Fifth & Pacific Companies, formerly known as Liz Claiborne Inc., the big apparel brand, spent most of this year getting rid of its remaining California brands acquired more than a decade ago. (See related story on the cover.)

In October, Fifth & Pacific shed Juicy Couture, a brand it purchased for more than $167 million in 2003. The apparel concern sold Juicy Couture’s intellectual-property rights to Authentic Brands Group for $196 million.

Then in December, Fifth & Pacific sold Lucky Brand Jeans to Los Angeles–based private-equity firm Leonard Green Partners for $225 million. The sales leave Fifth & Pacific to concentrate on its one sole brand, Kate Spade, whose sales have more than doubled in the last year.

In the swimwear arena, Fortune Swimwear, based in Culver City, Calif., was sold to Coast Style Group for an undisclosed price. The merged companies are now known as CSG Brands.

CSG Brands principals Craig Soller, Stephen Soller and Gary Bulb had been working with Fortune Swimwear since 2010 to expand the company’s offerings beyond swimwear to include a full range of women’s apparel offerings, including dresses, intimate apparel and sportswear.