Hampshire Group Amends Rio Garments Deal

Hampshire Group, which announced in April that it would sell its Honduras-based Rio Garments business to the factory’s management, says it has amended the deal to accommodate the buyers.

The management group, which includes Rio president David Gren, has had some changes in financing with their bank in Honduras.

Under the amended deal, Hampshire says it will receive an aggregate amount of $6 million, less a $1 million holdback to support representations of the sellers, comprised of cash and new accounts receivable, payable on or by preset dates ending on October 5, 2015.

Hampshire has already received $1.3 million for the first payment and will receive the second payment by the end of the month. The deal will be finalized when the full $5 million has been paid.

“The completion of our Rio transaction will be an important step in our ability to support the turnaround of our business,” said Hampshire CEO Paul Buxbaum. “The liquidity provided by this sale will enable us to overcome the challenges we’ve faced in the early part of the year, including the negative impacts of the west coast port strike, and allow us to fund the growth of our core Dockers and James Campbell brands, which have performed well thus far in 2015. We look forward to reporting on our progress in the coming months.”

Rio Garment S. de R.L., which was founded in 2006, designs and manufactures knit tops for U.S. retailers and distributors. Hampshire acquired it in 2011 for $23 million.