By Ben Glickman
The assets of clothing retailer Express will be folded into a new online retailing venture after a court approved the acquisition of the company's stores and brands out of bankruptcy.
WHP Global, a brand-management firm, along with mall owners Simon Property Group, Brookfield Properties and Centennial Real Estate said Friday that they would form a new joint venture called Phoenix, which had been approved by the Delaware court to acquire most of Express's operations.
Phoenix will operate all direct-to-consumer commerce in the U.S. for the Express and Bonobos brands. The company said it plans to strengthen operations to preserve more than 450 physical stores, e-commerce operations and almost 7,000 jobs.
The deal is expected to close in the coming week, subject to closing conditions.
Express filed for chapter 11 protections in April. The company said at the time that it would close at least 18% of its 584 stores, which would leave it with about 479 stores.
Express said in its filing in April that the company's major physical presence and broader factors weighing on the retail industry had led to lackluster results.
WHP Global is backed by private-equity firm Ares Management and owns Toys 'R' Us and Anne Klein brands.
Write to Ben Glickman at ben.glickman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 14, 2024 15:03 ET (19:03 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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