Perry Ellis International, Inc., parent company of the Jantzen business that licenses Nike swimwear, announced last week that is will acquire “certain domestic operating assets” and all outstanding capital stock of the U.K. subsidiary of Tropical Sportswear International. The deal, expected to close in February 2005, is valued at approximately $85 million in cash funded through the company’s existing credit lines. The final deal value is subject to adjustments for TSI’s accounts receivable and inventories at closing.

To help facilitate the sale, Tropical Sportswear International filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and entered into an asset purchase agreement with PERY pursuant to section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. TSI also announced it has secured a new $50 million debtor-in-possession credit facility (“DIP”) with The CIT Group and Fleet Capital to finance operations during the sale process.

PERY sees the TSI business providing net sales in excess of $200 million, while being slightly accretive to PERY earnings in 2005.

The deal is subject to approval by the Court as well as the customary Hart-Scott-Rodino anti-trust hurdles.