IKKS might be changing hands

We've known that IKKS has been living on borrowed time for some months: since a standstill procedure enacted on 16th July, the French ready-to-wear brand has been negotiating to refinance its debt. However, according to reports from Capital Finance and L'Agefi, who have apparently had access to the company's dossier, the label could well be on the verge of being rescued.

It appears, though, that the proposed deal implies that IKKS' creditors will be taking over the company, which achieved 348 million euros in revenue in 2017. Since the French investment fund took over in 2015, the company has been under the control of LBO France, which holds 59% of its shares, as well as Roger Zannier (29%), Silverfern Group (8%) and IKKS' own management team (4%). According to Capital Finance, the deal has been struck with "an ad hoc group made up of three American investment funds – Avenue Capital, CarVal Investors and Marathon Asset Management –, representing 42% of the 320 million euros in high yield bonds held by IKKS." Through the partial transformation of debt into company shares, these firms will acquire 100% of the brand's capital, in a deal which allows IKKS to reduce its debt from 320 million euros to 140 million.

According to the sources cited above, the agreement also includes an injection of 70 million euros in order to finance reimbursements and support the company's working capital. Capital Finance claims that a plan drawn up by Pierre André-Cauche, which aims to achieve 394 million euros in revenue and 57.8 million euros in Ebitda in 2021, has already been approved. The same plan apparently implies the shuttering of 43 unprofitable retail locations out of the 892 operated by the company around Europe, and a corresponding shift of focus towards e-commerce, which it is hoped will account for 12% of the brand's sales by 2021. The company's recently announced deal with Fung Kids in China will also be explored as an interesting potential driver of new growth.

Neither IKKS nor LBO France have confirmed reports of the deal to FashionNetwork.com's at this time.

IKKS might be changing hands

See also