Boohoo in line to buy Nasty Gal IP for £16.3m
MANCHESTER-based online fashion specialist Boohoo.com has confirmed a £16.3m ($20m) bid to buy “certain intellectual property assets” from bankrupt US company Nasty Gal Inc, but only if no other higher offers emerge.
Los Angeles-headquartered Nasty Gal filed bankruptcy on November 9 and subject to US court approval to be sought on January 5 2017 will be bought by Boohoo subsidiary Boohoo F I Ltd.
Boohoo F I will be appointed as a “stalking horse” bidder for the Nasty Gal brand and customer databases.
The sale of the Nasty Gal assets will be governed by a court approved bidding process lasting at least 30 days. Boohoo’s bid may not result in a transaction if higher or more favourable offers are obtained by Nasty Gal during the auction process.
Nasty Gal delivered net revenue of $77.1m in the year ended February 1 2016.
This includes revenue from vintage clothing and third party brands, which are excluded from the proposed transaction.
The company made a net loss after tax of $21m after taking into consideration operating costs. The proposed transaction relates to the acquisition of intellectual property assets only and excludes all operating costs.
Boohoo joint chief executives Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane said in a statement: “Should we be successful in acquiring Nasty Gal it would represent a fantastic opportunity to add such a well-established, global brand to the Boohoo family.
“Following our recent acquisition of PrettyLittleThing.com we believe this would represent an ideal next step in inspiring an ever-growing range of young customers internationally.”
