(SGI) VF Corp. has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Supreme, the iconic American streetwear brand. Details have yet to be finalized, but the $2.1 billion transaction is expected to close before the end of 2020. The deal values the brand at $2.1 billion in terms of enterprise value, based on a multiple of less than 15 times Ebitda. That’s up sharply from a valuation of more than $1 billion made for the brand three years ago, when Carlyle Partners bought a 50 percent interest in it.
Supreme has been a pioneer in introducing weekly drops of new products with a disruptive digital business model. While it has 12 mono-brand stores, mostly in the U.S. and Japan, it gets 60 percent of its turnover from e-commerce. VF says it will help accelerate the group’s “consumer-minded, retail-centric, hyper-digital transformation,” while providing access to attractive consumer segments. While collaborating with the likes of Louis Vuitton in the fashion sector and others in the casual and athletic footwear sector, such as Clarks, Dr. Martens and Nike, Supreme has also collaborated with three VF brands: Vans, The North Face and Timberland.
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