A private equity company announced plans to pay up to $140 million to acquire up to 950 of Claire’s North American stores.
Under the deal, Ames Watson will pay some of Claire’s rent and wages and assume certain liabilities for the retailer that specializes in ‘tween and teen jewelry, beauty and accessories store but went into voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early August.
The company began making plans to close most of its U.S. stores, including stores in the Acadiana Mall and the Walmart Supercenters in Carencro, Broussard and Opelousas.
According to Claire’s, liquidation at a "significant number" of their stores has been paused; at others, the store closing sales will continue. There is no word yet which category the local stores will fall into.
Lawrence Berger, the co-founder of Ames Watson says Claire’s has a strong connection with generations of consumers.
“We are committed to investing in its future by preserving a significant retail footprint across North America, working closely with the Claire's team to ensure a seamless transition and creating a renewed path to growth based on our deep experience working with consumer brands."
Ames Watson, which purchases and then reconfigures companies, claims more than $2 billion in revenue. It owns brands including Champion Teamwear, Ebbets and Lids.
This is not the first Chapter 11 for Claire’s. The company, under a huge debt load, filed initially in 2018. It was able to restructure, raise new capital and eliminate roughly $2 billion of the debt then owed.
The sale to Ames is still subject to approval by courts in both the U.S. and Canada and other closing conditions.