Authentic Brands Group (Authentic) reported it raised $500 million from its existing investor General Atlantic, bringing the private equity firm’s investment in the apparel chain operator to nearly $2 billion.
Authentic intends to leverage its continued partnership with General Atlantic to support worldwide expansion and accelerate its playbook, connecting brands with licensing partners and a global network of operators, distributors and retailers for value optimization.
General Atlantic first partnered with Authentic in October 2017, with its latest investment bringing the firm’s total invested capital in the company to nearly $2 billion. Since General Atlantic’s initial investment, Authentic said it had executed “nearly 30 brand acquisitions and diversified its platform through new verticals, including media, outdoor, events and experiences, and most recently, studios.”
Authentic was founded in 2010.
“General Atlantic’s increased investment in Authentic is a testament to the strength of our proprietary brand platform, business model and team,” said Jamie Salter, founder, chairman and CEO of Authentic. “General Atlantic takes an innovative investment approach and shares our vision for building brand value for the long term. We are proud to be part of General Atlantic’s selective portfolio of first-movers and established companies and look forward to continuing to partner with them to evolve and scale our model worldwide.”
Authentic filed for an IPO in early July 2021 but shelved the plans by November 2021 as it sold stakes to private equity firms CVC Capital Partners and HPS Investment Partners in a fundraising effort that gave it an enterprise value of $12.7 billion. At that time, Salter indicated that the IPO could be postponed to the following year or 2024. Authentic officially pulled its initial public offering in January without a specific reason.
In a statement on Thursday, Authentic noted that it continued to accelerate its growth through a strategic partnership with David Beckham to co-own and manage his global brand, completed its largest acquisition with Reebok and finalized the purchase of British lifestyle brand Ted Baker.
In recent months, Authentic acquired the intellectual property of luxury lifestyle brand Vince and outdoor lifestyle brand Hunter and signed a definitive agreement to purchase active lifestyle company Boardriders. The company also unveiled Authentic Studios, a full-service production studio that works on four brands, including Shaquille O’Neal’s Jersey Legends, David Beckham’s Studio 99, Sports Illustrated Studios, and Authentic Productions.
Authentic’s portfolio of 40-plus brands generates over $25 billion in global annual retail sales and a retail footprint in 150 countries, including 10,800-plus freestanding stores, shop-in-shops, and 380,000 points of sale.
Andrew Crawford, managing director and global head of consumer at General Atlantic, said, “General Atlantic is proud to be a long-term partner to Jamie and the Authentic Brands Group team. Over the past six years of our work together, Authentic has significantly accelerated its growth by capitalizing on meaningful M&A opportunities, expanding into key markets and building a deeply experienced management team. Looking ahead, we believe Authentic is positioned for continued diversification across categories, license partners, geographies and distribution channels, with immense whitespace in digital and e-commerce particularly. We are thrilled to continue collaborating with Authentic to further scale its differentiated portfolio of brands.”
Authentic’s other shareholders include BlackRock, CVC Capital Partners, Simon Property Group, HPS Investment Partners, Leonard Green & Partners, and Brookfield.
Authentic’s brand portfolio includes Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O’Neal, David Beckham, Dr. J, Greg Norman, Neil Lane, Thalia, Sports Illustrated, Reebok, Brooks Brothers, Barneys New York, Judith Leiber, Ted Baker, Hunter, Vince, Hervé Léger, Hickey Freeman, Frye, Nautica, Juicy Couture, Vince Camuto, Lucky Brand, Aéropostale, Forever 21, Nine West, Eddie Bauer, Spyder, Volcom, Shark, Tretorn, Prince, Airwalk, Izod, Jones New York, Van Heusen, Hart Schaffner Marx, Arrow, and Thomasville.
