MOORESTOWN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Destination Maternity Corporation (NASDAQ: DEST) (“Destination Maternity” or the “Company”), the premier national retailer for maternity apparel and accessories, filed on November 29, 2019 a motion to approve the selection of Marquee Brands, LLC (“Marquee Brands”) as the stalking horse bidder in its ongoing marketing and sale process. Marquee Brand’s bid is to purchase the Company’s ecommerce businesses, intellectual property, leased departments within department stores and baby specialty stores, strategic marketing partnerships and the right to designate certain inventory and related assets for sale by its partners, Gordon Brothers and Hilco Merchant Resources.
The bid of approximately $50 million, subject to adjustment, along with the assumption of certain liabilities, represents a baseline bid and is subject to higher or otherwise better offers in an open auction process. The proposed Purchase Agreement contains customary closing conditions. To the extent additional qualified bids are received, Destination Maternity expects the auction, scheduled to take place on December 9, 2019, to be competitive.
The deadline to submit qualified bids is December 5, 2019, and the Company expects to seek Court approval of the winning bid on December 12, 2019. Parties interested in participating in the marketing process should contact the Company’s investment bank, Greenhill & Co., LLC (Neil Augustine, neil.augustine@greenhill.com, and Peter Johns, peter.johns@greenhill.com).
“We are pleased that Marquee Brands recognizes the value of our business and has made a competitive bid during our marketing and sale process,” said Lisa Gavales, a member of Destination Maternity’s Board of Directors and the interim Office of the CEO. “We are working to continue the sale process, including the auction, and look forward to an outcome that will maximize value for our stakeholders. Looking ahead, we remain focused on continuing to serve our loyal customers.”
Throughout the process, Destination Maternity expects its operations to continue to serve customers and to meet its day-to-day obligations to its employees, suppliers of goods and services and customers.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Landis Rath & Cobb LLP are acting as the Company’s legal co-counsel, Greenhill & Co., LLC is acting as investment banker and Berkeley Research Group, LLC (“BRG”) is serving as Destination Maternity’s restructuring advisor.
About Destination Maternity
Destination Maternity is the leading designer and omni-channel retailer of maternity apparel in the United States, with the only nationwide chain of maternity apparel specialty stores, as well as a deep and expansive assortment available through multiple online distribution points, including our three brand-specific websites. We sell our merchandise on the Internet, primarily through our Motherhood.com, APeaInThePod.com and DestinationMaternity.com websites. We also sell our merchandise through our Canadian website, MotherhoodCanada.ca, through Amazon.com in the United States, and through websites of certain of our retail partners, including Macys.com. Our stores operate under three retail nameplates: Motherhood Maternity®, A Pea in the Pod® and Destination Maternity®. We also operate leased departments within leading retailers such as Macy’s®, buybuy BABY® and Boscov’s®.
About Marquee Brands
Marquee Brands is a leading global brand owner and marketer. Owned by investor funds managed by Neuberger Berman, one of the world's leading employee-owned investment managers, Marquee Brands targets high quality brands with strong consumer awareness and long-term growth potential. Marquee Brands seeks to identify brands in various consumer product segments with the goal of expanding their reach across retail channel, geography and product category while preserving the brand heritage and enhancing the ultimate consumer experience. Through its global team of professionals and partners, Marquee Brands monitors trends and markets in order to grow and manage brands in partnership with retailers, licensees and manufacturers through engaging, impactful strategic planning, marketing, and e-commerce. www.marqueebrands.com.
About Gordon Brothers
Since 1903, Gordon Brothers (www.gordonbrothers.com) has helped lenders, operating executives, advisors, and investors move forward through change. The firm brings a powerful combination of expertise and capital to clients, developing customized solutions on an integrated or standalone basis across four service areas: valuations, dispositions, operations, and investments. Whether to fuel growth or facilitate strategic consolidation, Gordon Brothers partners with companies in the retail, commercial, and industrial sectors to put assets to their highest and best use. Gordon Brothers conducts more than $70 billion worth of dispositions and appraisals annually. Gordon Brothers is headquartered in Boston, with 25 offices across five continents.
About Hilco Merchant Resources
Hilco Merchant Resources (www.hilcomerchantresources.com) provides a wide range of analytical, advisory, asset monetization, and capital investment services to help define and execute a retailer’s strategic initiatives. Hilco Merchant Resources’ activities fall into several principal categories including acquisitions; disposition of underperforming stores; retail company or division wind downs; event sales to convert unwanted assets into working capital; facilitation of mergers and acquisitions; interim company, division or store management teams; loss prevention; and, the monetization of furniture, fixtures and equipment. Additionally, HMR now includes among its subsidiaries the nation’s premier fixture and equipment liquidation firm, Hilco Fixed Asset Recovery (www.hilcoffe.com), an innovative sale locater website called Shop Genius (www.shopgenius.com), as well as the popular online retail and daily deal e-commerce company, Deal Genius, LLC (www.dealgenius.com). Hilco Merchant Resources is part of Northbrook, Illinois based Hilco Global (www.hilcoglobal.com), one of the world’s leading authorities on maximizing the value of business assets by delivering valuation, monetization and advisory solutions to an international marketplace.
