Gildan, the Montreal-based company specialized in imprintables, has announced today that it won the auction to acquire American Apparel with a bid of $ 88M.
Gildan had previously offered $ 66M to acquire the California based brand during its bankruptcy proceedings, but it increased its offer last week to stave off the competition of last minute bidders like Amazon and Forever 21. Under the terms of the offer, the Canadian company is going to acquire worldwide intellectual property rights for the American Apparel brand and some equipment. The offer does not include any of the existing 110 retail locations but Gildan will purchase separately the remaining inventory to insure a seamless merger into their printwear channel.
Glenn Chamandy, President and CEO of Gildan commented, "We are excited to be moving forward with this acquisition. [...]. We see strong potential to grow American Apparel sales by leveraging our extensive printwear distribution networks in North America and internationally to drive further market share penetration in the fashion basics segment of these markets."
Brands owned by Gildan include, among others, Anvil and Comfort Colors, and the company has licensing agreements with New Balance and Under Armor.
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