Court approves Boohoo's Nasty Gal buy
Boohoo has confirmed that it has achieved court approval to go ahead with its purchase of certain assets and the intellectual property of US young fashion brand and etailer Nasty Gal.
The $20m deal is expected to complete on 28 February and Boohoo's co-CEOs Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane have said they are delighted with the acquisition, which is "subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions waivable at the group's discretion".
"[This] represents an exciting opportunity to accelerate our international offering and inspire an ever-growing range of young customers in the US and around the world," Kamani and Kane said.
Manchester-based Boohoo made its move for Nasty Gal at the end of last year after the business was placed into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US and positioned itself as the so-called “stalking horse” bidder in an anticipated auction process. In the event no other viable bids were tabled and the Boohoo deal was waved through.
Nasty Gal was founded in 2006 by LA-based entrepreneur Sophia Amoruso who was aged just 22 at the time. It ran into difficulties last year after which it was placed in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and Amoruso, a high-profile figure and public speaker, stood down.
Nasty Gal delivered net revenue of $77.1m in the year ended 1 February 2016 a net loss after tax and operating costs of $21m. The revenue figure includes sales from vintage clothing and third party brands and these are excluded from the Boohoo sale, which includes intellectual property assets only and excludes all operating costs.
The deal marks the second recent acquisition for Boohoo, which acquired 66% of young fashion etailer PrettyLittleThing for £3.3m in December.
