Restructuring firm wins biding race over Wet Seal with a 3 million dollars offer

The Boston-based advisory, restructuring and investment firm Gordon Brothers, has announced earlier this month that it is acquiring the Wet Seal brand, pending final court approval. Barely two days after the firm made its offer public, a bankruptcy judge approved the purchase.

Judge Christopher S. Sontchi of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington approved Gordon Brothers’ 3 million dollars purchase of teen retailer Wet Seal LLC’s brand name after a competitive auction, confirmed the ‘Wall Street Journal’ earlier this week, citing judicial sources.

As advanced by Gordon Brothers, the acquisition also includes other brands within the Wet Seal portfolio such as Arden B, Blink, Chic Boutique and several others.

"Despite the increasing challenges facing teen retailers, we at Gordon Brothers strongly believe in the long-term viability of the category," said Ramez Toubassy, president of the Brands division at Gordon Brothers. "Our plan for Wet Seal is to rebuild and reposition the brand and develop a unique new business model to best position it for future success," added Toubassy in a statement.

Gordon Brothers has expressed confidence in the long-term viability of the teen apparel category, despite its challenges, informed local media over the weekend. The new owner of the surf themed apparel brand noted that Wet Seal had more than 500 million dollars in revenue and 478 retail locations as recently as 2014.

This is the second time in under two years that the ailing retailer changes hands. In March 2015, Philadelphia-based capital firm Versa Capital Management won a fierce bidding race to acquire the teen clothing business, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy two months earlier.