Last week was a busy one for San Francisco-based private equity firm Golden Gate Capital. It not only reached an agreement to acquire the assets of the J. Jill Group Inc. from Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB), but also reached a deal in the sale of SoftBrands Inc., a Minneapolis-based software producer.
Jill Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of Golden Gate, agreed to purchase the womenswear retailer for approximately $75 million. The deal includes assets and liabilities, including a distribution center in New Hampshire, and intellectual property and inventory. Jill Acquisition assumes the leases of 204 J. Jill stores, with the remaining 75 expected to be closed by Talbots. Talbots' board unanimously approved the deal, and the transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter.
The divestiture of the J. Jill brand is part of Talbots' efforts to focus on the turnaround of its core business, the company said. Talbots just reported a deeper loss for its fiscal first quarter as same-store sales plunged.
Golden Gate and privately held business software company Infor Corp. have formed a holding company to complete the $80 million acquisition of SoftBrands (AMEX: SBN), which serves the manufacturing and hospitality industries. The $0.92 per share sale price is almost double the share price before the deal was announced. Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) has agreed to offer financing for the takeover. SoftBrand's board unanimously approved the deal and it is expected to close in 60 to 90 days, pending regulatory and stockholder approval.
Over the past five years, Golden Gate Capital has completed about 20 retail acquisitions worth more than $3.5 billion in annual revenue.
