NORTHBROOK, Ill., June 25,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hilco Global is pleased to
announce the completion of a successful engagement with Express as
it is sold to Phoenix Retail. Phoenix Retail, a new retail
business, is a joint venture between WHP Global and mall owners
Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties. ReStore Capital, an
operating company of Hilco Global and a credit focused investment
manager, agented a $65 million Second
Lien Term Loan to Express in September
2023, and later agented a $25
million new money DIP Term Loan in support of the Express'
efforts to effectuate a going concern sale of the business after
filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. These loans were
repaid in full from the proceeds of the sale to Phoenix Retail.
"I am incredibly proud of the collaborative efforts and the
strong partnership we've built with Express over the past seven
years," says Ian Fredericks,
President and COO of Hilco Consumer - Retail. "Our relationship
goes beyond just providing financial solutions; it demonstrates our
commitment to supporting our clients through every phase of their
journey. The successful sale of Express is a testament to the
resilience and dedication of all parties involved. We congratulate
WHP Global, Simon Property Group, and Brookfield Properties on this
strategic acquisition and look forward to seeing Express continue
to thrive under their new ownership."
Throughout the process, both Hilco Consumer - Retail and its
parent, Hilco Global - a privately held diversified financial
services company and the world's preeminent authority on maximizing
the value of assets for both healthy and distressed
companies - played an integral role in partnering with both
Express and its stakeholders to manage through a challenging
operating period, and ultimately, accomplishing a successful sale
of the business. Beyond the financing support provided by ReStore
Capital, Express engaged Hilco Merchant Resources (HMR) to provide
various services given their operational and asset monetization
expertise. These included running store closing sales for
approximately 115 underperforming stores that were non-core to
Phoenix Retail's go forward business plan.
The Hilco Global/Express partnership is a perfect example of how
Hilco Global can serve as a one-stop-shop for clients given its
breadth of experience and expertise across various industries and
asset classes. Over the past seven years, Hilco Global cultivated
an ongoing partnership with Express; indeed, Mr. Fredericks recalls
that one former Express senior executive would remark, "Call
Hilco. I'm sure they can help," whenever Express was
confronted with a challenge without an obvious solution.
The Hilco Global and Express relationship began in 2017 when
Express solicited proposals from HMR and competitors to close its
Canadian business. HMR ultimately won the mandate and achieved a
result that far exceeded expectations. Thereafter, from Q4 of 2018
through 2022, HMR was engaged by the Company to conduct strategic
store closings and clearance sales in the US and Puerto Rico. Additionally, in Q4 2020, Hilco
Valuation Services was able to leverage HMR's experience closing
stores to conduct an inventory appraisal after a competitor
improperly dropped the appraised values due to COVID, failing to
take into account the true intrinsic value of Express' inventory.
Had Hilco not stepped in to provide an accurate appraisal, it's
possible Express would have met the COVID fate of other retailers
in 2020 and been forced to liquidate. Around the same time,
Hilco Enterprise Valuation Services was also engaged to conduct an
intellectual property appraisal for the Company. These Hilco
appraisals were used to support Express' financing efforts at the
tail end of 2020 and early 2021. Later, in the Fall and Winter of
2021, Express had significant staffing challenges not unlike other
retailers at the time and approached Hilco to "help". Leveraging
Hilco's CareerFlex solution, Hilco provided Retail SWAT Teams and
its Restore for Retail Virtual Store Management Platform to assist
Express with preparing for and executing during the all-important
holiday season.
In November 2022, ReStore Capital
was approached to provide new financing for Express and closed a
$90 million FILO Term Loan, which was
paid off shortly thereafter in January
2023 from proceeds of WHP's acquisition of Express'
intellectual property. Hilco Valuation Services continued to
perform Express' inventory appraisals per the cadence required by
the lender group in connection with their ongoing financing support
of the business, which scope later grew to include Bonobos
following Express' acquisition of the business in April 2023. It was this successful partnership
between Hilco Global and Express over the years that laid the
groundwork and led to ReStore Capital's mandate to agent another
loan in September 2023 and various
Hilco Global service engagements that followed, resulting in the
ultimate sale of the Express to Phoenix Retail in June 2024.
"The successful transition of Express is a prime example of how
we leverage our extensive expertise to support businesses through
challenging times and position them for future growth," Mr.
Fredericks explains. "Hilco Global is a comprehensive financial
services provider, offering tailored solutions that drive value and
success for our clients."
"Our enduring partnership with Express showcases Hilco Global's
extensive range of services beyond asset monetization," Mr.
Fredericks further adds. "By providing strategic financial
solutions and operational expertise, we have supported Express
through various phases, culminating in a successful transition.
This collaboration exemplifies our commitment to being more than
just a financial partner – we are a catalyst for sustainable growth
and success. We are excited to see Express continue to flourish
under WHP's stewardship."
Hilco Global looks forward to continuing to foster such
partnership-based relationships with clients of the past, present
and future. In this regard, Mr. Fredericks continues, "Hilco
Global has often experienced the mischaracterization in the
marketplace of merely serving as a 'liquidator' of businesses. This
stigma has further contributed to the 'lend-to-liquidate' moniker
following the launch of Hilco Global's ReStore Capital platform in
2020. While ReStore Capital does leverage Hilco Global's asset
valuation and monetization expertise, allowing us to lend deeper
into asset values at a higher rate of conviction than others in the
market, Hilco Global's ability to monetize such assets securing
ReStore Capital's loan portfolio merely serves as a hedge to ensure
repayment in full of their loan exposure."
The Express story exemplifies how ReStore Capital can deploy
creative financing solutions that serve the best interests of all
stakeholders, regardless of what side of the table they may sit on.
ReStore Capital's solutions combined with Hilco Global's breadth of
services and expertise allow businesses not only a fighting chance
survive, but also pave the way for them to write their next chapter
as a success story in today's transformative and often challenging
consumer and retail market landscape.
Other Stakeholders:
- ABL Agent: Wells Fargo
- ABL Participants: Bank of America, Fifth Third Bank.
U.S. Bank National Association
- ABL Counsel: Goldberg Kohn Ltd.
- Term Loan Participants: First Eagle Alternative Credit
and Gordon Brothers
- Term Loan Counsel: Ropes & Gray LLP
- ABL & Term Loan Advisor: AlixPartners
- Store Closing JV Partner: Gordon
Brothers
- Company Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis LLP
- Company Financial Advisor: M3 Advisory Partners LP
- Company Investment Banker: Moelis & Company LLC
About Hilco Global: Hilco Global
(http://www.hilcoglobal.com/) is a privately held diversified
financial services company and the world's preeminent authority on
maximizing the value of assets for both healthy and distressed
companies. Hilco Global financial services leverage a unique
blend of deep restructuring, and principal investing. Hilco Global
delivers customized solutions to undervalued, high potential
companies to resolve complex and stressed situations and enhance
long-term enterprise value.
Hilco Global operates as a holding company comprised of over
twenty specialized business units that work to help companies
understand the value of their assets and as needed monetize the
value. Hilco Global has almost 4 decades of a successful track
record of acting as an advisor, agent, investor and/or principal in
any transaction. Currently, the company has $3 Billion in assets under management. Hilco
Global works to deliver the best possible result by aligning
interests with clients and providing them strategic insight,
advice, and, in many instances, the capital required to complete
the deal. Hilco Global is based in Northbrook, Illinois and has more than 800
professionals operating on five continents with US offices located
in Boston, Detroit, Chicago, New
York, Philadelphia, and
internationally in Australia,
Canada, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Mexico and throughout Asia.
About Hilco Consumer - Retail: Hilco Consumer - Retail
(www.hilcoglobal.com/companies/hilco-consumer-retail/) provides a
wide range of analytical, advisory, asset monetization, and capital
investment solutions to help define and execute a retailer's
strategic initiatives with operations on 4 continents. Hilco
Consumer - Retail activities fall into several principal categories
including: acquisitions; disposition of underperforming stores;
retail company or division wind downs; event sales to convert
unwanted assets into working capital; facilitation of mergers and
acquisitions; interim company, division or store management teams;
loss prevention; and, the monetization of furniture, fixtures and
equipment. Additionally, Hilco Consumer - Retail includes
among its subsidiaries the nation's premier fixture and equipment
liquidation firm, Hilco Fixed Asset Recovery (www.hilcoffe.com),
the SaaS-based mobile visual merchandising and operations platform
ReStore for Retail (www.restoreforretail.com) and an innovative
sale locater website called Shop Genius (www.shopgenius.com).
About ReStore Capital: ReStore Capital
(www.restore-cap.com) is a commercial finance and alternative
investment firm providing capital solutions to leading retailers
and consumer products companies. Directly, and through its
affiliates, the company leverages decades of retail and wholesale
consumer goods and brand expertise to provide and unlock additional
capital for inventory procurement, capex improvements, expansion
and turnaround initiatives, and debt refinancing.
Hilco Consumer – Retail and ReStore Capital are part of
Northbrook, Illinois based Hilco
Global (www.hilcoglobal.com), the world's leading authority on
maximizing the value of business assets by delivering valuation,
monetization, advisory, and capital solutions to an international
marketplace. Hilco Global operates more than twenty specialized
business units offering services that include asset valuation and
appraisal, retail and industrial inventory acquisition and
disposition, real estate and strategic capital equity
investments.
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