Sycamore Said to Near Acquisition of Lingerie Brand Hunkemoller
August 10, 2015 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
Sycamore Partners, a U.S. private equity firm, is nearing an agreement to buy Dutch lingerie brand Hunkemoller from PAI Partners, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Sycamore had been competing against other buyout firms including Carlyle Group, said the people, who asked not to be identified because talks are private. Hunkemoller may fetch about 440 million euros ($482 million), one of the people said. Talks are ongoing and could still fall apart.
European private equity firms have been busy exiting investments, but have struggled to find new targets. French buyout firm PAI Partners agreed to buy Hunkemoller, the largest lingerie brand in the Benelux and Germany, for 265 million euros in 2010.
Spokesmen for PAI Partners and Sycamore Partners declined to comment. A representative for Hunkemoller couldn’t be immediately reached for comment outside of usual business hours.
Hunkemoller was founded in 1886 in Amsterdam by Wilhelm Hunkemoller and his wife Josephina Lexis, and now has about 2,700 employees and more than 600 stores in 16 countries, according to the company’s website.
