New York Investors Save Rock & Republic
Bankrupt Rock & Republic will live another day.
Bluestar Alliance, whose Bluestar Brands owns the Hot Kiss name, will pony up $60 million to help Los Angeles denim label emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to a New York Post report.
Bluestar was one of many suitors who looked at the company that filed for reorganization on April 1 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York. Other contenders included Iconix Brands, VF Corp. and Kellwood, sources said.
The New York Post article said the deal allows Rock & Republic to pay off the $40 million it owes its creditors as well as go forward to expand the brand.
The largest secured creditor is Los Angeles apparel businessman Richard Koral, who loaned Rock & Republic $15 million in a deal secured by the denim company’s trademark name. That loan was due on April 2. Unsecured creditors include landlords of a Rodeo Drive store in Beverly Hills that Rock & Republic never occupied even though its yearly lease was more than $2 million.
Calls to Rock & Republic, Bluestar and Koral were not returned. But the deal’s announcement took many by surprise. New York attorney Arthur Goldstein, representing Rock & Republic in bankruptcy court, said he learned about the deal while reading the New York Post over lunch. “I have no comment about that article,” he said. “I just read it five minutes ago.” —Deborah Belgum
