The Tommy Hilfiger brand is being sold to Phillips-Van Heusen for about $3 billion in cash and stock. The brand’s current owner, British private equity firm Apax Partners, has twice sought an initial public offering for the clothier, reports The New York Times.
Phillips-Van Heusen, which also owns Calvin Klein, Arrow and Izod and licenses brands like Geoffrey Beene and Kenneth Cole New York, says the acquisition was an opportunity to bring together two premier companies and iconic brands. “Tommy Hilfiger fits all of our acquisition criteria: a strong brand, superior management, highly profitable, immediately accretive to earnings, and focused on international growth,” Phillips-Van Heusen ceo Emanuel Chirico said in a statement.
Mr. Hilfiger no longer holds a management role at the company but remains a principal designer and a public face for the clothier. Through the deal, Phillips-Van Heusen will pay a combination of cash and stock for Tommy Hilfiger, while Apax will still own about 13 percent of the American clothing company. Phillips-Van Heusen is expected to take on more than $2.5 billion in debt to finance the deal.
Tommy Hilfiger branded clothing and accessories are sold at Macy’s department stores, through an exclusive partnership, as well as at its own branded stores.