Authentic Brands: brands it owns and its ownership tree
Authentic Brands is a privately held company headquartered in New York, New York, United States that owns 6 consumer brands, and has 7 recorded transactions.[1]
Authentic Brands buys trademarks rather than businesses. It owns the names and licenses them to operators who actually make and sell the products, so a shop with its brand above the door is usually run by someone else entirely. It also owns the estates of several dead celebrities.
Kontoor Brands agreed to sell the Lee jeans brand to an affiliate of Authentic Brands Group for up to $1 billion: $750 million in cash at closing and up to $250 million more in an earnout. It would leave Kontoor with Wrangler and Helly Hansen, and put Lee with the brand-licensing group that already owns Nautica and Brooks Brothers and licenses its names to operators rather than making the clothes itself.
Authentic Brands acquired Champion from Hanesbrands for about $1.2 billion. Champion had invented the hooded sweatshirt in the 1930s for labourers working in cold warehouses, and its reverse weave construction is still the reason the garments keep their shape.
Adidas sold Reebok to Authentic Brands Group for up to about €2.1 billion, having paid €3.1 billion for it in 2006. Adidas had been unable to grow the brand in fifteen years of ownership and wrote down its value repeatedly.
Authentic Brands acquired Eddie Bauer, the outdoor company whose founder patented the quilted down jacket in 1940 after nearly dying of hypothermia. The price was not disclosed, and the brand is licensed to operators rather than run by its owner.
Authentic Brands and Simon Property Group bought Brooks Brothers out of bankruptcy for about $325 million. The oldest clothing retailer in America, founded in 1818, had been undone by the collapse in demand for office tailoring.
Authentic Brands bought Forever 21 out of bankruptcy for about $81 million, jointly with the mall owners Simon Property Group and Brookfield. Two of its largest landlords buying the retailer was a striking arrangement: they were, in effect, buying their own tenant to keep the space occupied.
Authentic Brands acquired Nautica from VF Corporation, which was shedding brands to concentrate on outdoor and workwear. Authentic bought the trademark and licenses it to operators who design and sell the clothing, so the company that owns the name does not make the products.
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Frequently asked questions
What brands does Authentic Brands own?
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Authentic Brands owns 6 consumer brands tracked here, including Champion, Eddie Bauer, Forever 21, Brooks Brothers, Nautica and Reebok.
Is Authentic Brands an American company?
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Yes. Authentic Brands is headquartered in New York, New York, United States and was founded in 2010.
Who owns Authentic Brands?
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Authentic Brands is privately held. Authentic Brands buys trademarks rather than businesses.
What was Authentic Brands' most recent acquisition?
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The most recent completed acquisition recorded here is Champion on 30 September 2024.
Sources (8) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.