Any company interested in bidding for the bankrupt Rockport brand needs to submit its offer by 4 p.m. on Monday and a hearing will be held two days later to determine the winner.
According to court papers filed in Delaware Bankruptcy Court on Wednesday, Authentic Brands Group is now officially the stalking horse bidder for the comfort shoe brand through a business called ABG-Regatta LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. This confirms a report in WWD on Tuesday that Authentic would be the stalking horse.
The size of Authentic’s bid was not revealed but the court papers said if the company is not successful in purchasing the Rockport brand, it would need to be reimbursed $1 million for the expenses it incurred as well as a $1.6 million break-up fee.
The Newton, Massachusetts-based Rockport filed bankruptcy for the second time last week and put itself up for sale. At the time of the filing, Rockport said it had entered into negotiations with a potential purchaser that had “significant experience in the industry.”
If Authentic’s bid is accepted by the court, it would bring Rockport together with its former parent company, Reebok, which Authentic bought from Adidas last year. Reebok bought Rockport in 1986 and owned it until it was sold in 2015.
The comfort shoe brand has been struggling for a number of years with high overhead costs and weakened demand for its core product lines. In September 2022, the company retained Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., an investment banking firm, to explore opportunities, including a sale. Rockport was founded in 1971 and produces products under the Rockport, Cobb Hill and Dunham names as well as Prowalker and Total Motion.
This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com.
