Active Ride Acquired
The bankrupt Mira Loma, Calif.–based Active Ride Shop has been acquired by a Florida-based investor group for $5.2 million in an auction ordered by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Riverside, Calif. The identities of the parties who formed the investor group were not made public.
“We are very pleased with the outcome [of the auction],” said Shane Wallace, president and co-founder of Active Ride. “Our investors have the same vision as we do, both short- and long-term, for the company, and we are aligned in what we’d like to see the company do in the future.”
Industry watchers had expected the core surf/skate retailer to be acquired by Everett, Wash.–based competitor Zumiez, which had earlier expressed interest in buying the retail chain for $7.2 million.
According to reports, a limited-liability company called Active Sports Lifestyle USA was formed for the purpose of acquiring Active and proved to be the top bidder at the June 16 auction. Marc Winthrop of Newport Beach, Calif.–based bankruptcy law firm Winthrop Couchot conducted the auction, which included a total of five bidders.
The buyers plan to keep Active’s management team and assets, which include 21 retail stores and the brand’s headquarters and warehouse, intact, Winthrop said. The new owners are in the process of attempting to renegotiate leases at Active’s locations, Winthrop said. If rents are not successfully dropped at some of the locations, those stores could be shuttered.
Wallace said he hopes to emerge from a bankruptcy that cost its vendors and creditors more than $15 million and revisit Active’s heyday with the support of his new investors. “Of course, I feel bad for everyone that had to pay a price,” he said. “We didn’t plan for this to happen. Truly the biggest losers were the Active family. We hope to again become a viable source to sell product to, and we want to help our vendors make money. Our goal is to stabilize our business and make Active a win-win for everyone involved.”
Winthrop said that he hopes to have court approval of the proposed acquisition by June 30 and close the deal on or before July 10. —Erin Barajas
