Authentic Brands reportedly planning IPO

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
May 27, 2021

Authentic Brands Group (ABG), the owner of brands including Barney's, Juicy Couture, Nautica, Nine West and Forever 21, is reportedly working with advisers on a possible initial public offering that could come as early as this year. 

The New York-based brand management company could seek a valuation of about $10 billion when it goes public, according to a Bloomberg report that cited anonymous sources. 

Most recently, in 2019, ABG was valued at $4 billion when BlackRock made an $875 million investment. It is also backed by the financial firms General Atlantic, Leonard Green & Partners and Lion Capital. 

Since then, it has been buying up bankrupt retailers at a rapid rate including the acquisition of Forever 21, Brooks Brothers, and Juicy Couture in 2020 alone. Prior to that, it bought Barneys, Nine West and Aéropostale out of bankruptcy. 

Earlier this month, Reebok, who was put up for sale by Adidas, reportedly attracted a sizeable bid from Authentic Brands Group, while most recently the latter purchased outerwear-maker Eddie Bauer along with Sparc, its joint venture with Simon, the largest U.S. mall operator.

Founded by Jamie Salter in 2010, it today operates close to 30 brands.