Executives Move Forward to Make Tarrant Private
After two Tarrant Apparel executives announced they want to take the publicly traded company private, a special committee of board members has been formed to consider the proposal.
The committee consists of Mitchell Simbal and Joseph Mizrachi, who will be the committee’s co-chairmen, along with Milton Koffman and Simon Mani. The committee is interviewing legal counsel and investment bankers to help evaluate the acquisition proposal.
Simbal has been on Tarrant’s board of directors for seven years. Since 1997, he has been the senior vice president of retail operations for Caesars Entertainment, whose casinos include Caesars Palace, ParisLas Vegas and Bally’s.
Mizrachi, also a board member since 2001, is involved in funding buyouts of small- and medium-sized companies. Koffman is the chairman of New Valu Inc., a financial-services firm, and Mani is the general manager of Mani Brothers Real EstateInvestment Group, a downtown Los Angeles company that owns and manages various office buildings.
On April 25, Tarrant Apparel founder Gerard Guez and Vice Chairman Todd Kay announced they wanted to buy the remaining 49 percent share of the company they don’t already own. They offered to pay 80 cents a share, a 14 percent premium over the stock’s NASDAQ closing price on May 6.
Tarrant makes private-label clothing for stores such as New York & Co., Chico’s, Kohl’s, Macy’s and Wal-Mart as well as the American Rag juniors label for Macy’s. —Deborah Belgum
