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Shareholders Group Seeks to Take Wet Seal Private
After more than two decades of being a public company, The Wet Seal Inc., based in Foothill Ranch, Calif., might go private.
Wet Seal shareholder Clinton Group filed a papers on Dec. 18 with the Securities & Exchange Commission to make the retailer a private company.
Clinton Group owns more than 8.10 percent of the stock for the company, which runs Wet Seal stores, serving a juniors clientele, and Arden B., a contemporary retailer. The New York–headquartered Clinton Group has, in the past, served as a catalyst for change. In 2012, it led a proxy war that resulted in the ouster of former Chief Executive Officer Susan McGalla as well as a new board of directors for the retailer. The company runs a fleet of 468 Wet Seal stores and 62 Arden B stores.
