Successful Relaunch of RENÉ LEZARD

Frankfurt, 9 January 2018. Attorney at law Dr. Hubert Ampferl from Dr. Beck & Partner GbR closes the sale of the renowned fashion brand RENÉ LEZARD.

RENÉ LEZARD Mode GmbH, headquartered in Schwarzach/Bavaria, is an exclusive fashion brand for men and women in the premium segment. Retail stores, showrooms, an online shop, and fashion outlets allow RENÉ LEZARD to serve clients in over 20 countries. In 2015/16, the company generated revenues of approx. EUR 45 million with about 350 employees. Due to economic downturns in the premium fashion segment, a failed restructuring effort, and unsuccessful negotiations with a potential investor, RENÉ LEZARD Mode GmbH had to file for insolvency under self-administration on March 7th, 2017. In accordance with the German “Schutzschirmverfahren” (creditor protection with debtor-in-possession status), Dr. Hubert Ampferl was first appointed by the local court in Würzburg as the (preliminary) solicitor, and with the opening of insolvency proceedings as the insolvency administrator.

Together with Dr. Michael Bourjau, an experienced restructuring consultant, and the executive board, Dr. Ampferl was able to stabilize business operations, which facilitated the entry for investors. After an international sales process and intense negotiations with several bidders, the creditors’ committee finally accepted the offer by an investor consortium, consisting of a private investor and the company’s bondholders. The transaction is structured as an insolvency plan comprising several steps: 1. Sale-and-lease-back of the Schwarzach factory site to the private investor, 2. transfer of the entire business operations to the newly incorporated RENÉ LEZARD Mode AG, 3. transfer of 30% of shares in RENÉ LEZARD Mode AG to the private investor, 4. transfer of 70% of shares in RENÉ LEZARD Mode AG to the company’s bondholders in exchange for their holdings in the outstanding bonds of RENÉ LEZARD. The new RENÉ LEZARD Mode AG will continue its business operations at the Schwarzach site. The workforce could be preserved.

ACXIT Recovery Management accompanied RENÉ LEZARD and the insolvency administration as exclusive financial advisor in the search for investors.

ABOUT Dr. Ampferl
Dr. Hubert Ampferl, attorney at law, specialist in insolvency law and Diplom-Betriebswirt (FH) is a partner of the law firm Dr. Beck & Partner GbR. He is active as an insolvency administrator in all of Bavaria and as such, has specialized himself in the restructuring of companies.

Amongst others, Dr. Ampferl is the insolvency administrator for Müller-Brot GmbH, Luitpoldhütte AG, and Wöhrl Mode und Textilhandelsdienstleistungen GmbH.

ABOUT ACXIT
ACXIT Capital Partners is a leading independent corporate finance and investment advisory firm for mid-market clients and entrepreneurs in Europe and beyond. Since 1998, ACXIT offers its clients comprehensive corporate finance advisory services including M&A and capital markets advisory as well as restructuring, equity/debt and strategic advisory. As an independent, privately owned firm we maintain offices and representations in Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Leipzig, Zurich, Hong Kong and New York, as well as strong alliances in France and India. (www.acxit.com)

 

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Christian Nicolas Bächstädt, Managing Partner