Kirkland & Ellis And Latham & Watkins Spearheaded $1.2 Billion Sale Of Champion To Authentic Brands Group

Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins Spearheaded $1.2 Billion Sale Of Champion To Authentic Brands Group

Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins are at the forefront of HanesBrand's divestiture of its sportswear brand Champion to Authentic Brands Group, in a transaction totalling $1.2 billion.

This sale marks the latest in a series of significant deals that have seen Kirkland and Latham advising the parties involved. This includes natural gas producer EQT's $35 billion acquisition of its former pipeline unit Equitrans Midstream, one of the largest deals announced this year.

A Kirkland team, led by corporate Partners Allie Wein, Daniel Wolf, and William Lay, is Advising HanesBrands on the Champion sale. Jones Day is also Providing Advice on Corporate Governance, Financing, and executive compensation matters for HanesBrands, led by Atlanta-based Corporate Governance Partner Joel May.

Meanwhile, Latham is representing Authentic in the transaction, with a corporate deal team led by New York Partners Justin Hamill and Michael Anastasio, alongside Century City counsel Michael Montgomery.

Authentic Brands Group, headquartered in New York, is a brand management company with a portfolio that includes apparel, athletics, and entertainment brands like Reebok and Forever 21. The acquisition of Champion is expected to boost its system-wide annual retail sales to over $32 billion worldwide.

The deal has received unanimous approval from HanesBrands' board of directors and follows the company's announcement of exploring options for the Champion business.

The transaction could potentially reach a value of up to $1.5 billion through additional contingent cash consideration of up to $300 million, based on performance thresholds.

HanesBrands anticipates net proceeds from the transaction to be approximately $900 million. The company, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, intends to focus on growing its innerwear category and increasing investments across its brand portfolio, including Hanes, Bonds, Maidenform, and Bali.

The deal is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024. HanesBrands will provide certain transition services for Champion after the completion, including operating the business in select regions through a transition period.

Goldman Sachs and Evercore are serving as financial advisors to HanesBrands, while JP Morgan Securities and BofA Securities are acting as financial advisors to Authentic Brands Group.