Authentic Brands Group (New York), Simon Property Group (Indianapolis) and Brookfield Property Partners (Hamilton, Bermuda) recently acquired Forever 21 (Los Angeles) for a base bid of $81.1 million, according to WWD.
The actual amount paid is speculated to be much higher, WWD reports, as the buyer group said it would provide $20 million in payments for goods the retailer has recently accepted, including another $53 million for additional goods the retailer is intending on bringing in. In addition to “hundreds of millions of dollars” of purchase orders for valuables in transit or still at vendor warehouses, the group also has agreed to pay Forever 21’s rent for the month of February.
Jamie Salter, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ABG has expressed hopes to keep all 448 remaining Forever 21 locations in business, and even continue to expand the company internationally.
“The real purchase price is around $300 million,” Salter told WWD, “It’s an operating business so we’re getting working capital from it.”
ABG is in the process of narrowing down candidates for the new CEO of Forever 21 and plans to rebuild the upper management team in order to improve the infrastructure of the company and better capitalize the business.