Liberated Brands LLC has received interim approval to access $25 million of its $35 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from its secured lender JPMorgan Chase Bank NA. The move, approved by a Delaware Bankruptcy judge on Tuesday, is seen as interim measure to get the company to its next hearing on March 4, 2025.

The former licensing company set up to manage Authentic Brands Group’s collection of action sports lifestyle brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday with $3.3 million in cash on hand and $226 million in debt, according to court filings.

Authentic acquired most of the action sports brands when it acquired Boardriders, Inc. (fka Quiksilver, Inc.) on September 1, 2023, which included the Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy, RVCA, DC Shoes, Element, VonZipper, Honolua, and Boardriders brands, and each of the brands were licensed to Liberated later that month. The company had previously acquired the Volcom brand from Kering S.A. in 2019. Liberated secured the license for Spyder in July 2021.

Liberated had $98 million in secured debt and $143 million in unsecured debt when it filed for Chapter 11, including $78 million in trade claims and about $50 million in unpaid royalties under brand licensing agreements.

The judge also approved the company’s motion to close its 124 stores in North America and run going-out-of-business sales to liquidate inventory. The company said it is looking for a buyer of its Australian, European, Japanese and Canadian business units. The fate of the company’s stores in Hawaii is reportedly still under discussion.

The Court on Tuesday approved the company’s motion for Joint Administration of its multiple Chapter 11 cases and ordered that the cases be consolidated for procedural purposes only and shall be jointly administered by the Court under the docket for Debtor Liberated Brands LLC, Case No. 25-10168.

  • Boardriders Retail, LLC
  • Liberated AX LLC
  • Liberated Brands International, Inc.
  • Liberated-Spyder LLC
  • Volcom, LLC
  • Volcom Retail, LLC
  • Volcom Retail Outlets, LLC
  • Liberated Brands USA LLC
  • Liberated Brands LLC

The judge also sustained or supported a number of DIP objections from the U.S. Trustee’s Office. As a result, Liberated agreed to defer a bid to refinance the asset-based loan from JPMorgan via a process that would allow the company’s revenue to both serve as collateral for the DIP loan while paying down the asset-based loan.

The company is now expected to delay turning over its revenue to its lender until a final DIP hearing so that other claimants have a chance to object, Liberated’s attorney told the court during a lengthy hearing on Tuesday, February 4. Liberated also agreed to submit a more granular DIP budget after the judge expressed concerns that the budget did not explain why the DIP funds were needed and how they would be spent, also inferring that it was “bare bones”

JPMorgan is Liberated Brands’ largest secured creditor, with an $83 million loan due in August 2025 and secured by all of its assets.

In other Liberated news, the company confirmed on Monday via a media release that it had filed for bankruptcy protection in an effort to “implement an orderly monetization and disposition of its businesses.” The company said it has been in the process of transitioning its brand licenses to new licensees to ensure continuity for the brands.

The next hearing in front of the Bankruptcy Court is scheduled for March 4, 2025.

Image courtesy Quiksilver/Authentic Brands Group