HanesBrands acquires Knights Apparel

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Apr 13, 2015

HanesBrands last week announced it has completed its acquisition of Knights Apparel, making it the leading seller of licensed college logo apparel in both retail and college bookstore channels.

Knights sells apparel representing 400 of the largest U.S. colleges and universities, while Hanes’ Gear for Sports division is already a leading seller of licensed collegiate apparel in university bookstores.

The acquisition from Merit Capital Partners closed as expected on April 6, 2015, with the all-cash transaction valuing Knights at approximately $200 million on an enterprise basis.

Hanes will discuss the expected acquisition-related expenses and sales and profit contributions for 2015 on its first-quarter 2015 investor conference call anticipated to be held in late April.

With the addition of Knights, Hanes expects annualized sales of licensed and graphic apparel of more than $450 million with significant growth potential for college licensed brands.