Dress Barn to Buy Tween Brands

Dress Barn entered into an agreement to buy Tween Brands, owner of the Justice and Limited Too labels, in a stock deal worth $157 million.In the deal, Dress Barn will add Tween Brands' 908 Justice stores to its roster, which already include 841 Dress Barn

April 6, 2018

Dress Barn entered into an agreement to buy Tween Brands, owner of the Justice and Limited Too labels, in a stock deal worth $157 million.

In the deal, Dress Barn will add Tween Brands' 908 Justice stores to its roster, which already include 841 Dress Barn stores in 47 states and 716 Maurices stores in 44 states. In January, Tween Brands converted its 590 Limited Too stores into Justice formats.

Earlier this year, Tween Brands teamed up with American Greetings to sell its Maryoku Yummy brand of tween accessories and novelty merchandise in stores. Other former licensing deals include Build-A-Bear Workshop and Disney's Lizzie McGuire.

"We are excited to have found another strategically compelling transaction to drive superior value to our shareholders," says David Jaffe, president and chief executive officer of Dress Barn. "The Justice concept, which offers an attractive mix of well-priced fashion for girls ages 7 to 14, will diversify and complement our existing business. We are also pleased

to welcome the talented and proven Tween Brands' team into our organization. We look forward to working together to fully realize the significant potential of this business."

Mike Rayden, Tween Brands' current chairman and chief executive officer, will run the operation as a separate subsidiary of Dress Barn, reporting to Jaffe.

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