Sycamore Partners
 | |
Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Private equity |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Stefan Kaluzny Peter Morrow |
| Headquarters | Solow Building, , U.S. |
Key people | Stefan Kaluzny Peter Morrow |
| Products | Leveraged buyouts, special situations, distressed buyouts |
Number of employees | 11–50[1] |
| Website | sycamorepartners |
Sycamore Partners is an American private equity firm based in New York specializing in retail and consumer investments. The firm has approximately $10 billion in aggregate committed capital.[2]
History
[edit]| History of private equity and venture capital |
|---|
| Early history |
| (origins of modern private equity) |
| The 1980s |
| (leveraged buyout boom) |
| The 1990s |
| (leveraged buyout to PE and dot-com bubble) |
| The 2000s |
| (dot-com bubble to the credit crunch) |
| The 2010s |
| (expansion) |
| The 2020s |
| (COVID-19 recession) |
Founding
[edit]Sycamore Partners was founded in 2011 by Stefan Kaluzny and Peter Morrow.[3] Before Sycamore, Kaluzny was a managing partner at Golden Gate Capital and was employed since the firm's inception. Prior to joining Golden Gate, he co-founded Delray Farms, Inc. and also served as its chief executive officer. Kaluzny received a BA from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Morrow served as a Principal at Golden Gate before co-founding Sycamore. Peter Morrow received a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Holdings
[edit]Current
[edit]- CommerceHub
- Staples and Staples Canada (acquired 2017)[4]
- Pure Fishing (acquired January 2019)[5]
- Brands include: ABU Garcia, All Star, Berkley, Chub, Fenwick, Greys, Hardy, Hodgman, Johnson, JRC, Mitchell, Penn, Pflueger, Plano Molding[6][7] Sebile, Shakespeare, SpiderWire, Stren, and Ugly Stik.
- In February 2022, Pure Fishing acquired Svendsen Sport, a Denmark-based fishing tackle company and brand owner, which owns specialist brands including Savage Gear, Prologic, Madcat, and DAM.[8]
- Belk (acquired 2015)[9]
- Hot Topic (acquired 2013)[10]
- MGF Sourcing, formerly known as Mast Global Fashions (acquired 2011)[11][12]
- NBG Home (acquired 2017)[13]
- Talbots (acquired 2012)[14]
- The Limited (acquired 2017)[15]
- Torrid (acquired 2013)[16]
- In July 2021, Sycamore Partners sold off 25.2% of the company to the public. It is currently traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the "CURV" symbol. Sycamore Partners currently owns 74.8% of the company.
- Premium Apparel LLC (affiliate of Sycamore Partners used to acquire Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant and related brands from Ascena Retail Group in December 2020.)[17]
- Azamara Cruises (acquired 2021)[citation needed]
- Margaritaville at Sea (acquired 2023)[citation needed]
- Rona Inc. (acquired 2023)[citation needed]
- Playa Bowls (acquired 2024)[citation needed]
- Walgreens (acquired 2025)[18]
Former
[edit]- EMP Merchandising sold to Warner Music Group in 2018.[19][20]
- Nine West Holdings (2013–2018)
- Jones New York sold to Authentic Brands Group in 2015.
- Nine West sold to Authentic Brands Group in 2018.
- Bandolino sold to Authentic Brands Group in 2018.
- Kurt Geiger Acquired by Jones Apparel Group in 2011. Sold to Cinven in 2015.
- Stuart Weitzman sold to Coach, Inc. (now known as Tapestry, Inc.) in 2015.
- Coldwater Creek (2014–2020) assets sold to Hong Kong procurement company Newtimes Group in 2020.
- Express, Inc. (January 2021)
Recent investments
[edit]In 2011, Sycamore acquired a 51% stake in MGF Sourcing, finally completing the total takeover in 2015.[21]
In 2012, the firm acquired Talbots for $391 million.[22]
In 2013, Sycamore acquired Hot Topic and Torrid for $600 million.[23]
In 2014, the firm acquired Coldwater Creek. The firm also acquired Jones New York in 2014, for $2.2 billion, which was then sold to Authentic Brands Group in 2015.[24] Kurt Geiger[25] which was then sold to Cinven in 2015.[26] Sycamore also sold the Stuart Weitzman business to Coach, Inc. in 2015 for $574 million.[27]
In 2015, the firm acquired Belk, Inc for $3 billion,[28] and EMP Merchandising, whilst divesting from Pathlight Capital.[29]
In 2017, Sycamore's Nine West Holdings acquired Kasper. and Sycamore Partners purchased NBG Home. The firm then went onto win the bid for The Limited, bidding $26.8 million.[30] In June 2017, Reuters reported that Staples Inc. had agreed to sell itself for $6.9 billion.[31] Sycamore also sold Dollar Express LLC to rival Dollar General. Dollar Express LLC owned over 300 former Family Dollar stores acquired as part of Dollar Tree's acquisition of Family Dollar,[32][33]
In July 2020, it was announced that Sycamore Partners had made a $1.75 billion offer to acquire department store chain and competitor JCPenney out of bankruptcy, and would rebrand 250 JCPenney stores to the Belk name, to help the chain compete directly with Macy's. Under the plan, the remaining JCPenney stores will be liquidated.[34] The plan was not selected.[35]
In January 2021, Sycamore Partners bought Azamara Cruises from the Royal Caribbean Group.[36]
On March 16, 2022, it was announced the Sycamore and Hudson's Bay Company are preparing bids to buy Kohl's.[37]
On November 3, 2022, Lowe's announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Canadian retail business to Sycamore Partners.
On September 28, 2023, Sycamore signed an agreement to acquire Fort Myers, Florida–based Women's apparel retailer Chico's FAS for $938.1 million. As of July 29, 2023, Chico's runs 1,258 U.S. stores, and sells through 58 franchise locations in Mexico and two domestic airport franchises.[38]
On March 7, 2025, it was announced that Sycamore Partners was acquiring Walgreens Boots Alliance for about $10 billion, or $11.45 per share.[39] It was reported on August 28, 2025 that the acquisition of Walgreens was complete, ending its run as a publicly traded company.[40]
In a post on Bluesky, US Senator Bernie Sanders shared an open letter sent to Sycamore Partners founder and managing director Stefan Kaluzny, addressing Sycamore removing holiday pay & time off for holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day. Sanders said: "Sycamore Partners is forcing workers to sacrifice their basic needs for private equity profit."[41][42]
References
[edit]- ^ "Sycamore Partners". LinkedIn. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
- ^ "Sycamore to recapitalize and retain control of retailer Belk". PE Hub. January 26, 2021.
- ^ "Why the Wall Street dealmaker who bought Charlotte's Belk is betting on retail". The Charlotte Observer. May 22, 2017.
- ^ "Sycamore Partners under scrutiny after pocketing $1 billion from Staples deal". Mint. April 12, 2019.
- ^ "Newell Brands Completes Divestitures of Pure Fishing and Jostens". Retrieved November 25, 2018.
- ^ Robertson, Bob (March 17, 2021). "Pure Fishing (Berkley) Buys Plano Molding". Michiana Outdoors News. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
- ^ WSPYNEWS (April 29, 2021). "Pure Fishing Buys Plano Synergy". WSPY NEWS. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
- ^ "Pure Fishing Acquires Svendsen Sport". www.rwbaird.com. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
- ^ "Belk agrees to sell the company for $3 billion to Sycamore Partners". The Charlotte Observer. August 24, 2015.
- ^ "Hot Topic acquired by private equity firm Sycamore for $600 million". Los Angeles Times. March 7, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ Fickenscher, Lisa (January 25, 2024). "Macy's could get takeover bid from buyout firm Sycamore Partners". Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ Hirsch, Lauren (February 10, 2020). "L Brands nears sale of Victoria's Secret to Sycamore Partners". CNBC. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ "Sycamore Buys NBG Home From Kohlberg & Co". The Wall Street Journal. April 27, 2017.
- ^ Kantor, Ira (May 31, 2012). "Sycamore Partners acquires Talbots in $369M deal". Boston Herald. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ "Exclusive: Sycamore Partners wins bankruptcy auction for The Limited - sources". reuters.com. February 22, 2017.
- ^ "Investments". Sycamore Partners. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ^ "Done Deal: Ascena Retail sells Ann Taylor, other brands to Sycamore". chainstoreage.com. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ "Sycamore Partners Completes Acquisition of Walgreens Boots Alliance". walgreensbootsalliance.com. Retrieved September 4, 2025..
- ^ "Warner Music to Acquire EMP Merchandising for $180 Million". Variety. September 17, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ "Warner Music Group to Acquire German Merch Specialist EMP". Billboard. September 18, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ "OUR COMPANY – MGF Sourcing". www.mgfsourcing.com. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ "Sycamore Partners Completes Acquisition Of Talbots". prnewswire.com. Retrieved October 5, 2025..
- ^ de la Merced, Michael J. (March 7, 2013). "Sycamore Partners to Buy Hot Topic for $600 Million". DealBook. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ Collings, Richard (April 24, 2015). "Authentic Brands Acquires Jones New York Apparel Brand From Sycamore Partners". TheStreet. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ Torrid, Sycamore Partners, Private equity, Sycamore private equity, Retail investment, Retail private equity, Consumer investment, Consumer private equity, Sycamore investment, Retail capital, Consumer capital, Stefan Kaluzny, Peter Morrow, Belk, Coldwater Creek, Dollar Express, EMP Merchandising, Hot Topic, Kasper, MGF Sourcing, Nine West, Talbots. "Private Equity | Retail | Sycamore Partners". www.sycamorepartners.com. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Bray, Chad (December 14, 2015). "Kurt Geiger, British Footwear Maker, in Another Private Equity Deal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ Kell, John. "Coach to pay $574 million for shoemaker Stuart Weitzman". Fortune. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ "Sycamore Partners completes purchase of Belk". charlotteobserver. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ "Private Equity | Retail | Sycamore Partners". sycamorepartners.com. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ "Exclusive: Sycamore Partners wins bankruptcy auction for The Limited - sources". Reuters. February 21, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ Hirsch, Lauren (June 29, 2017). "Staples in $6.9 billion sale to private equity firm Sycamore". Uk.reuters.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- ^ "Dollar General scooping up 323 former Family Dollar stores". Retail Dive. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ "FTC Approves Sycamore Partners II, L.P. Application to Sell 323 Family Dollar Stores to Dollar General". Federal Trade Commission. April 27, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
- ^ Fickenscher, Lisa. "Private-equity firm Sycamore poised to buy J.C. Penney, merge it with North Carolina chain Belks; Penney brand likely to vanish". MarketWatch. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- ^ "J.C. Penney's sale approved by bankruptcy court". MarketWatch. Associated Press. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- ^ "Royal Caribbean Group is shrinking its fleet, selling Azamara to private equity firm". Miami Herald. January 19, 2021.
- ^ Thomas, Lauren (March 16, 2022). "Kohl's shares jump 17% after reports say Hudson's Bay, Sycamore are preparing bids". CNBC. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ^ "Sycamore to take apparel retailer Chico's FAS private for nearly $1 billion". Reuters. September 28, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ "Walgreens Boots Alliance Enters into Definitive Agreement to Be Acquired by Sycamore Partners". Walgreens Boots Alliance. March 6, 2025. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ "Sycamore Partners finishes deal to take drugstore chain Walgreens private". AP News. August 28, 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Swetlitz, Ike (November 12, 2025). "Walgreens eliminates paid holidays for hourly workers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "Sanders Slams Private Equity Scrooges Ending Paid Holidays for Walgreens Workers | Common Dreams". www.commondreams.org. December 23, 2025. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
