DIFFERENTIAL BRANDS ACQUIRES SWIMS

Differential Brands Group, which owns such brands as Hudson and Robert Graham, has completed the acquisition of Swims, a Scandinavian lifestyle brand that includes footwear, swimwear, outerwear, ready-to-wear and accessories. The line is sold through high-end department stores, independent specialty stores, luxury resort shops, as well as its own website and through 10 licensed, branded stores.

The acquisition of the company and related expenses were financed through a combination of Differential’s common stock totaling approximately 700,000 shares, certain warrants and cash. In addition, Differential obtained a $13 million bridge financing facility in order to facilitate the closing of the transaction.

“This marks the first acquisition for Differential Brands, and we are thrilled to be adding Swims, a sought-after lifestyle brand, to our portfolio,” said Michael Buckley, Differential’s CEO. “We believe that Swims offers significant growth opportunity through increased brand awareness and continued expansion in both the U.S. and international markets. The transaction also adds a strong sales network around the world to build our existing Robert Graham and Hudson businesses.”

“We are excited to partner with the Differential Brands team to capitalize on their expertise and infrastructure, as well as leverage their omni-channel distribution strategy to expand Swims’ presence, including in the U.S.,” said Alex Eskeland, president and co-founder of Swims. “We’re also looking forward to helping diversify the geographic presence of Robert Graham and Hudson through our well-developed international network.”