Authentic Brands Group

American brand development and licensing companyTemplate:SHORTDESC:American brand development and licensing company

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* Brand management
* talent management
* retail
* publishing
* CVC Capital Partners
* HPS Investment Partners
* Aéropostale
* Brooks Brothers
* Forever 21
* Nine West
* Nautica
* Prince
* Reebok
* Tapout
* Thomasville
* Vision Street Wear

**Authentic Brands Group LLC** (**ABG**) is an American brand management company headquartered in New York City. Its holdings include various apparel, athletics, and entertainment brands, for which it partners with other companies to license and merchandise. ABG owns more than 50 consumer brands, as well as the likeness rights or estates of celebrities, including Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe.

## History

The company was founded in 2010 by Jamie Salter, after he stepped down as CEO of Hilco Consumer Capital, a company that was involved in the restructuring of struggling consumer brands (such as Bombay Company and Polaroid Corporation). Salter invested US$250 million in the new venture, and the majority of the equity was sold to Leonard Green & Partners. Two of ABG's first major purchases were the clothing brands Silver Star and Tapout. In January 2011, Authentic Brands Group acquired rights to the likeness of Marilyn Monroe.

In October 2013, ABG announced the purchase of Juicy Couture from Fifth & Pacific for US$195 million. The following month, ABG acquired the estate of Muhammad Ali, and CORE Media Group's 85% stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises (which includes the estate of Elvis Presley, likeness rights, and music publishing assets).

In December 2015, basketball player Shaquille O'Neal signed with ABG to manage his likeness and marketing rights. In September 2016, Julius Erving also sold his name and licensing rights to ABG, and Aéropostale was purchased out of bankruptcy by a consortium that included ABG and other investors.

In March 2017, ABG became the controlling partner of Greg Norman's consumer products business.

In March 2018, ABG announced that they would acquire Nautica from VF Corporation. On June 10, 2018, ABG announced that it was the winning bidder for the intellectual property of Nine West Holdings. The acquisition was completed on July 3, 2018. On October 10, 2018, ABG announced that it had entered into an agreement to purchase a majority stake in the intellectual property of the Camuto Group's proprietary brands in partnership with DSW Inc.

In May 2019, ABG announced its acquisition of sports magazine Sports Illustrated from Meredith Corporation for US$110 million. The company stated it planned to leverage its trademarks and other non-core assets in new ventures. Meredith will continue to publish the *Sports Illustrated* magazine and digital properties under license for at least two years. On June 18, 2019, it was announced that rights to publish the *Sports Illustrated* editorial operations would be licensed to The Maven under a 10-year deal, with Ross Levinsohn as CEO. In August 2019, BlackRock became the largest shareholder in Authentic Brands.

In May 2020, ABG and David Glasser’s 101 Studios formed a joint venture, Sports Illustrated Studios, for feature film and television projects. The joint venture would have a slate of several TV series and films per year. The first announced project was the *Covers* two-hour docuseries based on the magazine's cover stories.

In August 2020, it was announced that Brooks Brothers was sold to ABG and Simon Property Group, the biggest mall operator in the US. The new owners committed to continue to operate at least 125 Brooks Brothers retail locations, worldwide (down from 424 global locations before the COVID-19 pandemic).

In June 2021, it was announced that ABG would acquire the Izod, Van Heusen, Arrow, and Geoffrey Beene brands from PVH.

In July 2021, ABG filed for an estimated US$1.5 billion initial public offering.

In August 2021, it was announced that ABG would be acquiring the sports clothing brand Reebok from Adidas for at least US$2.5 billion, in a deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. Private equity companies CVC Capital Partners and HPS Investment Partners invested $3.5 billion in ABG in a deal that closed in November 2021. ABG announced they would delay the IPO until 2023 or 2024.

## Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Indicates personal brand
2. ↑ Co-owned by Simon Property Group

## References

1. ↑ Weiss, Lois (2015-08-19). "Bids are in for Trinity Church cluster". *New York Post*. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
2. ↑ Young, Vicki M. (2017-10-30). "General Atlantic Makes Investment in Authentic Brands Group". *WWD*. Archived from the original on 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
3. ↑ Palmieri, Jean E. (2018-09-24). "ABG's Nick Woodhouse on Building an Influencer Network". *WWD*. Archived from the original on 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Toronto native Jamie Salter rebrands Marilyn Monroe". *The Globe and Mail*. Archived from the original on 2016-10-29. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
5. ↑ "Authentic Brands Group LLC and NECA Inc. Acquire the Intellectual Property of Marilyn Monroe LLC". *prnewswire.com*. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
6. ↑ "Leonard-Green Backed Authentic Brands to Buy Rest of Marilyn Monroe". *pehub.com*. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
7. ↑ "UPDATE 1-Fifth & Pacific sells Juicy Couture brand for $195 million". *Reuters*. 7 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
8. ↑ "Elvis Presley brand sold to Authentic Brands Group". *cbc.ca*. Archived from the original on July 4, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
9. ↑ Yan, Sophia (2013-11-20). "Sold! Elvis Presley Inc. has a new owner". *CNNMoney*. Archived from the original on 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
10. ↑ "Sting like a bee: ABG buys rights to Ali brand". *ESPN.com*. 2013-11-19. Archived from the original on 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
11. ↑ Halperin, Shirley (2017-08-16). "Elvis Presley Today: Graceland Proprietor on 'Blade Runner' Cameo, Hologram Plans, Changing Fanbase". *Variety*. Archived from the original on 2019-08-06. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
12. ↑ "Shaq sells rights to future business endeavors". *ESPN.com*. 2015-12-17. Archived from the original on 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
13. ↑ "Erving sells majority rights to 'Dr. J' name, image". *ESPN.com*. 2016-09-27. Archived from the original on 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
14. ↑ Wahba, Phil (September 13, 2016). "Aéropostale Won't Go Out of Business After All". *Fortune*. Archived from the original on February 11, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
15. ↑ Wilson, Marianne (January 11, 2017). "Teen apparel retailer reopens 500-plus stores". *Chain Store Age*. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
16. ↑ "Norman has deal with brand licensing firm ABG". *ESPN.com*. 2017-03-21. Archived from the original on 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
17. ↑ Howland, Daphne (2018-03-19). "Authentic Brands snaps up Nautica from VF". *Retail Dive*. Archived from the original on 2018-07-26. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
18. ↑ "Authentic Brands beats DSW in auction for Nine West: sources". *Reuters*. 2018-06-10. Archived from the original on 2018-09-11. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
19. ↑ "ABG Completes the Acquisition of Nine West and Bandolino". *Authentic Brands Group*. 2018-07-03. Archived from the original on 2018-09-11. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
20. ↑ Young, Vicki M. (2018-10-10). "Camuto Group to Be Acquired by ABG, DSW for $375 Million". *WWD*. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
21. ↑ Bennett, Anita (May 28, 2019). "Sports Illustrated Sold To Authentic Brands Group For $110 Million". *Deadline Hollywood*. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
22. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (May 28, 2019). "Meredith Sells Sports Illustrated to Authentic Brands Group for $110 Million". *Variety*. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
23. ↑ Kelly, Keith J. (2019-06-17). "Sports Illustrated's media ops are getting a new operator". *New York Post*. Archived from the original on 2019-06-17. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
24. ↑ Gottfried, Miriam; Lombardo, Cara (August 11, 2019). "BlackRock Takes Stake in Owner of Sports Illustrated, Nine West". Retrieved October 1, 2019.
25. ↑ McNary, Dave (May 5, 2020). "Sports Illustrated Studios Launches With 101 Studios for Features, TV Content". *Variety*. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
26. ↑ Maheshwari, Sapna (2020-08-12). "Bankrupt Brooks Brothers Finds a Buyer". *The New York Times*. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 "PVH to sell Izod, Van Heusen and other labels to Authentic Brands in $220 million deal". *MarketWatch*. June 23, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
28. ↑ "Authentic Brands Files for IPO Taking Forever 21 Owner Public". bloomberg.com. 2021-07-06.
29. ↑ "Authentic Brands Group(AUTH) Files for IPO". mg21.com. 2021-07-06.
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "Adidas ends Reebok era with $2.5 bln sale to Authentic Brands". *Reuters*. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
31. ↑ Gottfried, Matt Grossman and Miriam (22 November 2021). "Authentic Brands Raises $3.5 Billion, Pushes Back IPO". *Wall Street Journal*. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
32. ↑ Thomas, Lauren (2021-11-22). "Authentic Brands Group shelves IPO, to sell stake in deal that values company at $12.7 billion". *CNBC*. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 "Authentic Brands Group Adds to Portfolio". *footwearnews.com*. 30 July 2014. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
34. ↑ "Aéropostale Consortium Finalizes Acquisition". *businesswire.com*. 15 September 2016. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
35. ↑ "Authentic Brands Partners With Julius Erving to Own and Manage the Dr. J Brand". *wwd.com*. 27 September 2016. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
36. ↑ "US retailer Forever 21 bought back from bankruptcy". *BBC News*. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
37. ↑ "Authentic Brands Group acquires Frederick's of Hollywood". *usfashinnetwork.com*. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
38. ↑ "Authentic Brands Group acquires majority stake in Frye". *us.fashionnetwork.com*. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 "HMX Group, Authentic Brands Deal Done The deal spins off the operating arm to W Diamond Group". *wwd.com*. 26 December 2012. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
40. ↑ "Authentic Brands Group acquires Hervé Léger from Marquee Brands". *us.fashionnetwork.com*. Archived from the original on 2018-08-11. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
41. ↑ "Authentic Brands Group Acquires Jones New York". *apparelnews.net*. Archived from the original on 2016-10-12. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 "Authentic Brands Buys Judith Leiber, Taryn Rose, Adrienne Vittadini". *wwd.com*. 2019-11-22. Archived from the original on 2019-09-03. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
43. ↑ "Childrens Designer Dresses, Dresses Kidswear Items at Little Tags". *littletags.com*. Check `|archive-url=` value (help)
44. ↑ "Authentic Brands Group acquires Nautica from VF Corporation". *ipso.com*. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
45. ↑ "Authentic Brands Group Acquires Neil Lane Brand". *multichannelmerchant.com*. 11 August 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
46. ↑ "Authentic Brands Group Acquires Nine West". *sgbonline.com*. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
47. ↑ "Greg Norman signs with brand development and licensing company Authentic Brands Group". *espn.com*. 21 March 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
48. ↑ "Shaquille O'Neal sells rights to future business endeavors". *espn.com*. 17 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
49. ↑ "Prince Sports to be Sold to Authentic Brands Group in Bankruptcy Proceedings". *sgbonline.com*. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 "Authentic Brands Group acquires TapouT and Silver Star MMA-apparel companies". *mmajunkie.usaatoday.com*. 7 September 2010. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
51. ↑ "Authentic Brands Acquires Sportcraft Ltd Intellectual Property". *sgbonline.com*. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
52. ↑ "Sports Illustrated Sold To Authentic Brands Group For $110 Million". *deadline.com*. 28 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
53. ↑ "Authentic Brands Group, LLC Completes Purchase of Spyder Active Sports, Inc". *prnewswire.com*. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
54. ↑ "Ted Baker agrees £211m takeover by Reebok owner Authentic Brands". *breakingnews.ie*. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
55. ↑ "Thalía Teams With Authentic Brands Group for Strategic Partnership". *wwd.com*. 28 September 2016. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
56. ↑ "Authentic Brands moves into home market with Heritage Homes buy". *retaildive.com*. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
57. ↑ "Authentic Brands Group continues to grow with its third acquisition of 2015". *campfire-capital.com*. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
58. ↑ "Authentic Brands Group Partners with DSW Inc. to Acquire Camuto Group, Legendary Footwear and Accessories Organization". *prnewswire.com*. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
59. ↑ "Authentic Brands Group Is Betting On the Skate Market With Volcom". *footwearnews.com*. 2 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-11-22.

## External links

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