G-III buys hunky trunks maker
- Last Updated: 3:30 PM, August 8, 2012
- Posted: 11:59 PM, August 7, 2012
It’s August, and a New York firm just got a sweet deal on some fancy European swimming trunks.
G-III Apparel, which makes licensed clothing under the Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole and Jessica Simpson brands, said yesterday that it shelled out $106.2 million to buy Vilebrequin, a French luxury swimwear label whose clients include Jude Law, Brad Pitt and Prince William.
The deal, which calls for an additional $27.9 million in future performance-based payments, confirms an exclusive June 12 report in The Post that G-III was nearing a deal to acquire Vilebrequin.
Sources said G-III had been in talks this spring to buy Vilebrequin for as much as $150 million, or 13 times its earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda.
But sources said G-III was able to cut the purchase price to about nine times Ebitda amid economic turmoil in Europe.
