Blackstone Buys Majority Stake in SPANX, Inc.
20 Ottobre 2021 - 04:40PM
Business Wire
- Companies align to help empower women globally
- The acquisition will accelerate SPANX’s already rapid digital
transformation and expansion of its global footprint across more
categories
- Transaction led by all-female Blackstone investment team
- Blakely to become Executive Chairwoman of newly appointed board
of directors
SPANX, Inc., the mission-driven womenswear brand founded by Sara
Blakely in 2000, today announced a definitive agreement for a
majority investment from funds managed by Blackstone
(“Blackstone”), a leading global investment business. The firm has
agreed to buy a majority stake in the company at a valuation of
$1.2 billion – with Blakely maintaining a significant equity stake
in the business. Blakely, along with SPANX’s existing senior
management team, will continue to oversee daily operations, and at
closing, Blakely will become the Executive Chairwoman. The
acquisition will enable SPANX to accelerate its already rapid
digital transformation and strong online presence in the e-commerce
channel, expand its global footprint, and fuel its commitment to
creating innovative, ground-breaking products for its customers
across even more categories. The companies intend to create an
all-female SPANX board of directors as they align to help empower
women globally.
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Sara Blakely, SPANX Founder (Photographer
credit is Paul Thatcher)
This acquisition is the culmination of an unprecedented journey
for Blakely and SPANX. SPANX was founded by Blakely 21 years ago
when she took $5,000 in savings and set out to take on the
male-dominated shapewear and undergarment industry. Blakely, who
had never taken a business class in her life and was selling fax
machines door to door at the time, wrote her own patent and
invented the first SPANX undergarment in her apartment. Without
ever taking any outside investment, she went on to turn SPANX into
a global powerhouse that has changed the lives of women all over
the world. Blakely has been named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most
Influential People in the world and was featured on the cover of
Forbes magazine as the youngest self-made female billionaire.
Through her personal foundation, Blakely has given millions of
dollars to help elevate other women and in 2013 she signed the
Giving Pledge, promising to donate half her wealth to
philanthropy.
“This is a really important moment in time for female
entrepreneurs,” Blakely said. “I started this company with no
business experience and very little money, but I cared the most
about the customer, and that gave me the courage to launch the
company. At SPANX, we have always put the customer at the center of
what we do. I am as excited today for the future of SPANX as I was
when I started it 21 years ago. Now together with Blackstone, we
will have even more opportunity to further our mission of making
the world a better place… one butt at a time!”
Ann Chung, Global Head of Consumer for Blackstone Growth (BXG),
said: “Sara is an iconic businesswoman who bootstrapped SPANX into
not only a category creator and household name, but also a symbol
of authenticity, confidence building and female empowerment. We’re
honored that Sara and her team have placed their trust in
Blackstone as their partner of choice to further accelerate SPANX’s
digital transformation and growth, and look forward to what the
business will achieve with our full set of resources behind
it.”
Chung continued: “On a personal level, I am deeply proud to have
led an all-female Blackstone investment team in this partnership
with Sara and her accomplished female senior management team. We’re
also excited for SPANX to join Blackstone’s growing investment
portfolio of highly successful female-founded businesses.”
Today’s investment in SPANX is the most recent example of a
number of innovative female-founded companies Blackstone is proud
to back. This includes in just the last two years Bumble, the
online dating app where women make the first move founded by
Whitney Wolfe Herd; Hello Sunshine, the mission-driven media
company that puts women at the center of every story it creates,
founded by Reese Witherspoon; Hotwire Communications, a leading
provider of cutting-edge fiber-based telecommunication services
co-founded by its CEO Kristin Johnson; and GeoComply, a global
leader in geolocation compliance technology, co-founded by its
Chairman Anna Sainsbury. This is in addition to female-led
technology businesses in which Blackstone has invested such as
Ancestry.com, Articulate, and Ellucian.
Blackstone will be making its investment in SPANX through its
Blackstone Growth (BXG) and Blackstone Tactical Opportunities
businesses. The transaction is subject to customary closing
conditions.
SPANX was represented by Goldman & Sachs and Allen & Co.
in the transaction, with legal representation from Cravath, Swaine
and Moore. King & Spalding served as Blakely’s legal advisor.
Blackstone’s financial advisor for the transaction was JPMorgan and
legal advisor was Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
ABOUT SPANX, INC. Founded by Sara Blakely in 2000, SPANX,
Inc. is a dynamic women's brand that has revolutionized an industry
and changed the way women around the world get dressed. The mission
of the brand is to make things better and more comfortable for
women. Through tremendous consumer demand, the company has expanded
into offering both innerwear solutions and figure-flattering
outerwear, activewear and swimwear. SPANX is constantly identifying
and solving problems from a women’s point of view. With smarter,
more comfortable must-haves including leggings, denim, the Perfect
Pants collection, activewear, intimates and innovative shapewear,
SPANX elevates women through product and empowers them to look and
feel their best. Further information is available at www.spanx.com.
Follow Spanx on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @Spanx.
ABOUT BLACKSTONE Blackstone is the world’s largest
alternative asset manager. We seek to create positive economic
impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we
invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by
using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies
solve problems. Our $684 billion in assets under management include
investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public
debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic,
non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all
on a global basis. Further information is available at
www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211020005757/en/
SPANX: Lauren Hauther (470) 868-8492 LHauther@spanx.com
Blackstone: Matt Anderson (518) 248-7310
Matthew.anderson@blackstone.com
Mariel Seidman-Gati (917) 698-1674
Mariel.seidmangati@blackstone.com
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