Leading brand management firm partners with
the world’s largest money manager to enter its next phase of global
growth and platform evolution
BlackRock, Inc. announced today that entities affiliated with
its Long Term Private Capital (LTPC) strategy have made a strategic
investment in Authentic Brands Group (ABG), owner of a portfolio of
iconic and world-renowned brands. LTPC will become the largest
investor in ABG and will work closely alongside its management, led
by founder, Chairman and CEO James Salter and President and CMO
Nick Woodhouse. LTPC joins existing ABG investors including
founding investor Leonard Green & Partners, General Atlantic,
Lion Capital, Simon Property Group, Brookfield Properties’ retail
group and Shaquille O’Neal.
ABG has experienced significant growth since it was founded in
2010 and is now a world-leading brand development, marketing and
entertainment company. The Company’s portfolio of over 50 brands
generates close to USD $10 billion in annual worldwide revenue in
more than 70 countries. ABG’s portfolio spans the luxury, specialty
and mid-tier retail channels in both e-commerce and brick and
mortar, and is diversified across the lifestyle, sports, celebrity,
entertainment and media sectors. The ABG portfolio includes brands
such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, Shaquille
O’Neal, Greg Norman, Thalia Sodi, Neil Lane, Nautica, Aéropostale,
Vince Camuto, Nine West, Juicy Couture, Frye, Spyder, Prince and
Judith Lieber. ABG’s recent acquisition of Sports Illustrated, one
of the most respected names in sports media, highlights the
Company’s ability to expand a cultural centerpiece across digital,
TV and social platforms and represents their increasing desire to
converge content and commerce.
“The strategic investment by LTPC is a testament to the success
we have had building a leading platform for the ownership and
development of brand and media content,” said Jamie Salter,
Chairman and CEO at ABG. “We believe BlackRock’s scale, global
footprint and digital capabilities will enable us to build out our
organization and continue our domestic and international growth
trajectory. This investment marks an important and exciting next
phase of expansion for ABG.”
“ABG is an innovator in the licensing and branding industry. We
have built a close relationship with Jamie and Nick over the past
ten years as they’ve established this company as a leader in the
licensing industry by successfully capitalizing on trends and
continuing to innovate in the evolving consumer space. They have
built a best-in-class business model and grown it with flawless
execution,” said Colm Lanigan, Managing Director in the Long Term
Private Capital team. “We believe there is substantial growth still
ahead for ABG and look forward to partnering with Jamie and Nick to
build a global platform that brings together the worlds of fashion,
health and wellness, sports, culture and entertainment.”
“We are delighted to have ABG as LTPC’s first investment,” added
André Bourbonnais, Global Head of Long Term Private Capital. “ABG
represents exactly the type of high-quality business run by a
proven management team that we target with our investment strategy.
ABG will have the full support of the LTPC team, our operating
partners and the BlackRock platform. We look forward to a long and
prosperous relationship.”
BofA Merrill Lynch acted as the exclusive financial advisor to
LTPC.
About BlackRock LTPC
BlackRock Long Term Private Capital is an innovative private
equity strategy focused on partnerships with best-in-class
businesses, prudent capital structures to preserve optionality to
drive growth and flexible investment durations that enable
compounded capital appreciation. LTPC’s team of 19 professionals is
based in New York and London and invests globally with a focus on
North America and Western Europe. LTPC is backed by BlackRock,
Inc., the world’s leading investment firm, which manages more than
$6.84 trillion on behalf of investors worldwide, including over
$170 billion across alternative asset classes. Further information
is available at www.blackrock.com.
About BlackRock
BlackRock’s purpose is to help more and more people experience
financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading
provider of financial technology, our clients turn to us for the
solutions they need when planning for their most important goals.
As of June 30, 2019, the firm managed approximately $6.84 trillion
in assets on behalf of investors worldwide. For additional
information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate
| Twitter: @blackrock | Blog: www.blackrockblog.com | LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock.
About Authentic Brands Group
Authentic Brands Group (ABG) is a brand development, marketing
and entertainment company, which owns a portfolio of global media,
entertainment and lifestyle brands. Headquartered in New York City,
ABG elevates and builds the long-term value of more than 50
consumer brands and properties by partnering with best-in-class
manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. Its brands have a global
retail footprint in more than 100,000 points of sale across the
luxury, specialty, department store, mid-tier, mass and e-commerce
channels and more than 4,930 freestanding stores and shop-in-shops
around the world.
ABG is committed to transforming brands by delivering compelling
product, content, business and immersive experiences. It creates
and activates original marketing strategies to drive the success of
its brands across all consumer touchpoints, platforms and emerging
media. ABG’s portfolio of iconic and world-renowned brands
generates $9.3 billion in annual retail sales and includes Marilyn
Monroe®, Mini Marilyn®, Elvis Presley®, Muhammad Ali®, Shaquille
O'Neal®, Sports Illustrated®, Dr. J®, Greg Norman®, Neil Lane®,
Thalia®, Michael Jackson® (managed brand), Nautica®, Aéropostale®,
Juicy Couture®, Vince Camuto®, Herve Leger®, Judith Leiber®,
Frederick's of Hollywood®, Nine West®, Frye®, Jones New York®,
Louise et Cie®, Sole Society®, Enzo Angiolini®, CC Corso Como®,
Hickey Freeman®, Hart Schaffner Marx®, Adrienne Vittadini®, Taryn
Rose®, Bandolino®, Misook®, 1.STATE®, CeCe®, Chaus®, Spyder®,
Tretorn®, Tapout®, Prince®, Volcom®, Airwalk®, Vision Street Wear®,
Above The Rim®, Hind®, Thomasville®, Drexel® and Henredon®. For
more information, visit authenticbrandsgroup.com. Follow ABG on
Twitter, Linkedin and Instagram.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190811005031/en/
Media BlackRock Ed Sweeney +1 (646) 231-0268
ed.sweeney@blackrock.com Authentic Brands Group Haley
Steinberg VP MarComm +1 (814) 882-2913 hsteinberg@abg-nyc.com
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