Authentic Brands Group LLC (ABG) is an American

brand management In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is per ...

company headquartered in New York City. Its holdings include various apparel, athletics, and entertainment brands, for which it partners with other companies to license and merchandise. ABG owns more than 50 consumer brands, as well as the likeness rights or estates of celebrities, including

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, and

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

History

The company was founded in 2010 by Jamie Salter, after he stepped down as CEO of Hilco Consumer Capital, a company that was involved in the restructuring of struggling consumer brands (such as

Bombay Company The Bombay Company is an American furniture and home accessories retailer owned (since 2011) by Hermes-Otto International USA LLC. At one time a chain of over 500 stores headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, Bombay Company was relaunched in 2012 as a ...

and

Polaroid Corporation Polaroid is an American company best known for its instant film and cameras. The company was founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land, to exploit the use of its Polaroid polarizing polymer. Land ran the company until 1981. Its peak employment was 21,00 ...

). Salter invested US$250 million in the new venture, and the majority of the equity was sold to

Leonard Green & Partners Leonard Green & Partners ("LGP") is an American private equity investment firm founded in 1989 and based in Los Angeles. The firm specializes in private equity investments. LGP has invested in over 95 companies since its inception, including Petc ...

. Two of ABG's first major purchases were the clothing brands Silver Star and

Tapout Tap out or Tapout can refer to: * Tap out, submission in combat sport * Tapout (clothing brand) * ''Tapout'' (TV series) * '' UFC: Tapout'', a video game * Tap-Out ''(Transformers)'', the name of two fictional characters * "Tapout" (song), a 20 ...

. In January 2011, Authentic Brands Group acquired rights to the likeness of

. In October 2013, ABG announced the purchase of

Juicy Couture Juicy Couture is an American casualwear and dress clothing brand based in Arleta, Los Angeles, California. Best known for their iconic velour tracksuits which became a luxury staple in the 2000s, the company was founded by Pamela Skaist-Levy and ...

from Fifth & Pacific for US$195 million. The following month, ABG acquired the estate of

, and

CORE Media Group Industrial Media, LLC (formerly CKX, Inc., and CORE Media Group, Inc.) is an American company founded on February 7, 2005 that owns and develops entertainment content and intellectual property. History Sports Entertainment Enterprises, Inc. era ...

's 85% stake in

Elvis Presley Enterprises Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. (EPE) is a corporate entity created by "The Elvis Presley Trust" to conduct business and manage its assets, including Graceland.

(which includes the estate of

, likeness rights, and music publishing assets). In December 2015, basketball player

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...

signed with ABG to manage his likeness and marketing rights. In September 2016,

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

also sold his name and licensing rights to ABG, and Aéropostale was purchased out of bankruptcy by a consortium that included ABG and other investors. In March 2017, ABG became the controlling partner of

Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...

's consumer products business. In March 2018, ABG announced that they would acquire

Nautica Nautica is an American apparel brand of Authentic Brands Group featuring primarily men's, women's, children's apparel and accessories, as well as home, watches, and fragrance. Nautica was founded in 1983 by clothing designer David Chu and a par ...

from

VF Corporation VF Corporation (formerly Vanity Fair Mills until 1969) is an American global apparel and footwear company founded in 1899 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The company's 13 brands are organized into three categories: Outdoor, Active and Wor ...

. On June 10, 2018, ABG announced that it was the winning bidder for the intellectual property of

Nine West Holdings Nine West Holdings (formerly The Jones Group and Jones Apparel Group) is an American designer, marketer and wholesaler of branded clothing, shoes and accessories. In 2019, the company restructured under and is renamed Premier Brands Group Holdin ...

. The acquisition was completed on July 3, 2018. On October 10, 2018, ABG announced that it had entered into an agreement to purchase a majority stake in the intellectual property of the Camuto Group's proprietary brands in partnership with DSW Inc. In May 2019, ABG announced its acquisition of sports magazine

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

from

Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned magazines, television stations, websites, and radio stations. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more ...

for US$110 million. The company stated it planned to leverage its

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

s and other non-core assets in new ventures. Meredith will continue to publish the ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine and digital properties under license for at least two years. On June 18, 2019, it was announced that rights to publish the ''Sports Illustrated'' editorial operations would be licensed to The Maven under a 10-year deal, with

Ross Levinsohn Ross B. Levinsohn (born 1962/1963) is an American media executive who has worked in media and technology. He is the CEO of The Arena Group and ''Sports Illustrated'', and has held senior roles at Yahoo, Fox Interactive and Tribune Publishing, in ...

as CEO. In August 2019,

BlackRock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a Enterprise risk management, risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackR ...

became the largest shareholder in Authentic Brands. In May 2020, ABG and David Glasser's 101 Studios formed a joint venture, Sports Illustrated Studios, for feature film and television projects. The joint venture would have a slate of several TV series and films per year. The first announced project was the ''Covers'' two-hour docuseries based on the magazine's cover stories. In August 2020, it was announced that

Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers, founded in Manhattan, New York, in 1818, is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in America. Originally a family business, Brooks Brothers produces clothing for men, women and children, as well as home furnishings. B ...

was sold to ABG and

Simon Property Group Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...

, the biggest mall operator in the US. The new owners committed to continue to operate at least 125 Brooks Brothers retail locations, worldwide (down from 424 global locations before the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

). In June 2021, it was announced that ABG would acquire the

Izod The Izod Corporation (officially stylized as IZOD) is an American midrange clothing company that produces dressy-casual clothing, sportswear for men, and footwear and accessories. It is a division of Authentic Brands Group, and is currently ma ...

, Van Heusen,

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

, and

Geoffrey Beene Geoffrey Beene (born Samuel Albert Bozeman Jr.; August 30, 1924 – September 28, 2004) was an American fashion designer. Beene was one of New York's most famous fashion designers, recognized for his artistic and technical skills and for creati ...

brands from PVH. In July 2021, ABG filed for an estimated US$1.5 billion

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

. In August 2021, it was announced that ABG would be acquiring the sports clothing brand

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

from

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

for at least US$2.5 billion, in a deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. Private equity companies

CVC Capital Partners CVC Capital Partners is a Luxembourg-based French private equity and investment advisory firm with approximately US$133 billion of assets under management and approximately €157 billion in secured commitments since inception across American, E ...

and HPS Investment Partners invested $3.5 billion in ABG in a deal that closed in November 2021. ABG announced they would delay the IPO until 2023 or 2024.

Portfolio

Notes

References

External links

* {{Lion Capital 2010 establishments in New York City American companies established in 2010 Branding companies of the United States Conglomerate companies of the United States CVC Capital Partners companies Marketing companies established in 2010 Privately held companies based in New York City