Kirkland Advises WHP Global on Joint Acquisition of rag & bone

Kirkland & Ellis is advising consumer brand owner WHP Global on the joint acquisition of New York-based fashion brand rag & bone. WHP is partnering with Guess?, Inc. (NYSE: GES) to purchase the brand and will jointly own rag & bone’s intellectual property. The transaction was announced on February 16, 2024. The brand directly operates 34 stores in the U.S. and two stores in the U.K., and is also sold in retail stores globally. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of Guess?’ 2025 fiscal year subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

Read the transaction press release

The Kirkland team is being led by corporate partners Keri Schick Norton, Michael Chung and Hamed Meshki and associates Kristie Shu, Joseph Grib and Ellen Jeong; intellectual property partner Shellie Freedman and associates Nisha Chandra and Jeremy Korn; tax partners Vivek Ratnam and Mike Beinus; and debt finance partners Andrew Hurley and Thomas Dobleman and associate Andrew Won.