DC Advisory acts as exclusive financial advisor to ara Group on the sale of the global rights of the Salamander brand

Background

• German based shoe manufacturer and retailer, ara Group, is strategically reviewing its existing brand portfolio in order to focus on certain core brands
• Acquired by ara Group in 2009, Salamander used to be a leading shoe brand in Europe with more than 120 years of history
• The planned divestment of the Salamander brand represented a unique ‘Plug & Play’ opportunity for a range of strategic investors
• AstorMueller is a leading shoe distributor in Europe operating license brands like Bugatti and Daniel Hechter as well as the own brand Bagatt

Process

• ara Group engaged DC Advisory as an exclusive sell-side advisor to examine strategic options for the Salamander brand rights
• Despite a difficult economic environment and the parallel insolvency proceedings of the Salamander retail licensee for the German home market, DC Advisory successfully orchestrated a competitive auction process
• The process included project management, coordination of due diligence workstreams, rendering of financial analyses, marketing materials and advice on all strategic aspects of the transaction

Outcome

• In August 2023, AstorMueller acquired the global rights of the Salamander brand, excluding Russia and some neighbouring countries where the respective rights had been sold to the local Salamander licence partner two months before
• This transaction closed on August 28 2023
• AstorMueller intends to revitalize the Salamander brand and develop it as a strategic pillar for its international growth ambitions
• This transaction demonstrates DC Advisory’s strong track record of providing comprehensive sell-side advice in the fashion industry

“The DC Advisory team has been extremely supportive in all aspects of the transaction in an extremely challenging market environment. With their profound market knowledge and transactional know-how, they have been able to understand the needs of all the parties involved. All the way along from the structural set-up and market approach, to the transaction structure and related contract, the DC-team was essential to the successful closing of the deal”

“It was a great pleasure to work for ara group on this important and visible transaction. The collaboration with the group management was characterized by high engagement, close coordination and mutual trust, rewarded by with a remarkable outcome”