Sequential Brands Group, Inc. announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all assets including the intellectual property of the DVS brand from DVS Shoe Company, Inc. for approximately $8.55 million in cash. The purchase price will be less than the total guaranteed royalties that Sequential Brands has secured. The company intends to dispose certain non-core assets which will further reduce the purchase price. This acquisition will mark the company's first entry into the action sports consumer sector.
As reported, Sequential Brands Group, Inc., the parent of William Rast and People’s Liberation brands, put in the highest bid at the bankruptcy court action for DVS, the action sports footwear company. The bid reportedly beat out a competing offer from La Jolla Group.
DVS is a leading international brand in the action sports industry with significant brand recognition, and is best known for its great style, technical features and the input of some of the best action sports athletes in the world. The company has secured a world-class partner and licensee in Elan Polo International to manage the core footwear business and continue its current distribution strategies.
"DVS is a powerful brand and has tremendous potential to find new heights in the action sport genre," states Joe Russell, Chairman of Elan Polo International. "We are committed to maintaining the brand's direction and leadership while strengthening the operational systems necessary in building a global brand." Sequential has also licensed the apparel category to RSA & Associates. Both licensees plan to maintain the existing distribution and to base the primary operations in Orange County.
The DVS brand will extend Sequential Brands’ licensing platform into the footwear category, and additional product categories are currently in negotiation under the brand. DVS-branded products are sold worldwide at specialty actions sports retailers.
"This is the first of many acquisitions for Sequential," commented William Sweedler, Co-Founder of Tengram Capital Partners and Chairman of Sequential Brands Group. "With the addition of the DVS brand, we enter a new consumer sector that diversifies our business model and strengthens our Company." Colin Dyne, CEO of Sequential, added, "We believe that the newly converted licensing platform will be leveraged across numerous consumer sectors and industries, and this acquisition reinforces our plan."
The company plan to close on this transaction later this week. The deal team that represented Sequential during the acquisition was led by Tengram Capital Partners. Matthew Eby, Co-Founder of Tengram, stated, "We are very excited about the future prospects for the growth of Sequential. Tengram looks forward to continuing to contribute to the growth of our intellectual property licensing platform."
Sequential Brands Group, Inc. owns, promotes, markets, and licenses a portfolio of consumer brands that presently include William Rast® and People's Liberation®. The Company ensures that its brands continue to thrive and grow by employing strong brand management, design, and marketing teams. The Company has licensed and intends to license its brands in a variety of categories to retailers, wholesalers and distributors in the United States and in certain international territories.
Tengram Capital Partners, LLC is a private equity firm that focuses exclusively on leading middle-market consumer and retail companies that own strong recognizable brands. The team has a diverse background of consumer investing and operating expertise that assists and guides company management to unlock the true potential of their brand. Tengram invests or acquires both public and private consumer companies. Previous and current investments for Tengram and its predecessor fund, Windsong Brands, LLC include Sequential Brands Group, Robert Graham, Ellen Tracy, Joe Boxer, Joe’s Jeans, Sharper Image, Field & Stream, Carlos Falchi, Caribbean Joe, Design Within Reach, and Cloudveil.
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