Gordon Brothers facilitated Soft Surroundings’ going concern sale to Coldwater Creek through the U.S. women’s clothing and accessories retailer’s filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September.
Coldwater Creek, a U.S. women’s apparel, accessories, shoes and home décor retailer, acquired Soft Surroundings’ direct-to-consumer business, allowing for the entire collection to continue online at softsurroundings.com and for the company to preserve jobs._x000D_
Gordon Brothers leveraged its integrated service offering to provide capital, expertise and guidance on the sale process prior to, during and post-bankruptcy.
“With our deep expertise, 120-year history working with retailers and knowledge of restructuring, we understood Soft Surroundings’ situation and intervened early to avoid a full liquidation,” Kyle C. Shonak, senior managing director for the transaction team and head of North America lending at Gordon Brothers, said. “We advised both companies and navigated the formal restructuring process to maximize the value of the assets in which the retailers, their employees and their stakeholders all benefited.”
Gordon Brothers had provided Soft Surroundings a $17 million term loan to pursue a sale process and $18 million in debtor-in-possession financing for its plan of reorganization. The firm had previously supported the completion of Soft Surroundings’ inventory transition to a Mexican-based third-party logistics warehouse service.
“In pursuing the acquisition of Soft Surroundings’ direct-to-consumer business, we greatly benefitted from Gordon Brothers’ partnership over the last few months, their expertise and all-encompassing, tailor-made solution,” David Walde, CEO of Coldwater Creek, said. “They not only provided capital but the guidance and expertise needed to acquire the business through the company’s bankruptcy proceeding at an accelerated pace, thereby saving jobs, maximizing value and working with all parties to ultimately change the lens in how we had initially approached the opportunity.”
Gordon Brothers provides both short- and long-term capital to clients undergoing transformation. The firm lends against and invests in brands, real estate, inventory, receivables, machinery, equipment and other assets, both together and individually, to provide clients liquidity solutions beyond its market-leading disposition and appraisal services.
Gordon Brothers partners with management teams, private equity sponsors, strategic buyers and asset-based lenders globally to provide its expertise and additional capital in special situations. The firm’s tailor-made solutions provide clients additional capital alongside traditional debt and equity, and its structures complement senior asset-based lending facilities and include credit and yield enhancements.
