By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
The brand management company Iconix Brand Group has completed its acquisition of the remaining interests in its regional subsidiaries
Those include Iconix MENA Limited, Iconix Europe LLC and Iconix SE Asia.
The move comes after a troubled period for the global branding and licensing company, which has over 1,100 licenses with leading retailers and manufacturers worldwide.
Iconix was originally founded as Candie’s, Inc, a brand the company purchased in 1993, and over the years it acquired several very popular brands, like Joe Boxer, Mudd, London Fog, Ocean Pacific, the Peanuts comic strip rights, Ecko, Umbro, and Strawberry Shortcake, among others.
Strong growth continued until 2015 when several top executives, including founder Neil Cole, resigned following a statement that Iconix was under investigation by the Securities Exchange Commission.
The investigation was triggered by Iconix’s 2014 financial statements, after which it received a letter from the SEC. Stock prices fell 24% after Iconix confirmed the investigation. On Dec. 5, 2019, the SEC charged Iconix and three of its former top executives with fraud. The COO, Seth Horowitz, pleaded guilty to the charges, and Iconix agreed to pay a $5.5 million penalty. Cole was partially acquitted in November last year, but there are indications from the New York DA’s office that they will try to get a retrial.
As the legal maneuvers unfolded, Iconix hired Robert Galvin as CEO in 2018, and in 2020 the company was sold to Lancer Capital, which took the company private by purchasing all the outstanding shares and delisting from the Nasdaq.
Since then, Galvin and the new management team at Iconix have been focused on rebuilding the company, and achieving growth for its many well-established brands. One of the key moves, as announced this week, was to purchase all shares of its regional subsidiaries from from GIHCL, after GIHCL entered administration in late 2021.
“We are proud to announce our 100% ownership of Iconix Mena Limited, Iconix Europe LLC, and Iconix SE Asia, maintaining direct ownership will allow Iconix more control over positioning product in the marketplace and more flexibility to focus on digital-led marketing initiatives,” Galvin said. “We already have solid partners in place, and we are planning on business as usual for our partners while we continue to look to leverage those best-in-class.”
Teneo Restructuring was appointed as joint administrators of GIHCL, and with the sale, Iconix now owns 100% of the regional businesses and will continue to manage the Iconix brand portfolio throughout Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. The company says Iconix will leverage their global expertise in brand management as these regions come under the full control of Iconix.
The acquisition included all Iconix-owned brands except for Buffalo David Bitton, Lee Cooper, and Umbro in Europe.
For More Background:
Iconix Plans To Go Private After Controversial Acquisition Deal