The Montreal-based menswear brand Samuelsohn has acquired the tangible assets of the U.S.-based Hickey Freeman brand from W Diamond Group and will enter into a 40-year license agreement with brand owner, Authentic Brands Group.

"We are very proud to own Hickey Freeman and we are extremely excited about the growth opportunities that the Samuelsohn/Grano team brings to the brand," says Jamie Salter, chief executive officer, Authentic Brands Group.

The new acquisition includes all of Hickey Freeman’s tangible assets, including its factory in Rochester, N.Y. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

"For 90 years Samuelsohn has been known and respected in the industry for producing the best quality suits in Canada. Likewise, Hickey Freeman has built a business and reputation over the last century producing the very best suits in the United States," says Stephen Granovsky, chief executive officer, Grano Retail Holdings, which owns Samuelsohn, and chief executive officer, Samuelsohn. "Owning both of these best-in-class menswear businesses will be a dream come true." 

As part of the deal, Granovsky along with Samuelsohn President and Chief Creative Officer Arnold Brant Silverstone and President and Chief Operating Officer Alan Abramowicz will expand their roles to include Hickey Freeman oversight and development. 

"We intend, first, to add to the stability, and second to drive growth," says Lawrence Pollack, vice chairman of both Grano and Samuelsohn. "We estimate that Hickey Freeman can grow by as much as fifty percent in the next three to five years. The Rochester factory is a diamond in the rough." 

"Hickey Freeman has great brand value and long-term retail relationships, as well as an extremely productive factory and talented workforce," adds Arnold Brant Silverstone. "We believe that, working with Authentic Brands Group, we can bring the same creativity, discipline and energy to Hickey Freeman that we have brought to Samuelsohn over the last three years."