May 16, 2011 Arcapita Bank B.S.C.(c), the international investment firm headquartered in Bahrain, announced today that it and its affiliates have completed the acquisition of a majority stake in J. Jill, a leading multi-channel specialty retailer of womens apparel based in the US. J. Jill maintains a prominent and valuable brand footprint through 225 retail stores across the United States, and leverages its presence with an e-commerce and catalog-driven direct sales business. The business performed well during the recent economic downturn and achieved revenues of $390 million in fiscal 2010.
Arcapita acquired its interest in J. Jill from Golden Gate Capital, which retains a minority stake in the business. Golden Gate acquired J. Jill in 2009, and over the last two years it has empowered company management to re-energize the brand. Recently, Golden Gate began a process to identify an investor that would partner with it to continue growing the J. Jill brand, while monetizing part of its successful investment. Arcapitas retail private equity experience, including Loehmanns, Caribou Coffee, Churchs Chicken and Bijoux Terner, made it ideally suited for this role.
Through a broad program of improvements, Paula Bennett and the J. Jill team have delivered steady growth in the current environment and created a firm base to capture faster growth as the economic environment improves further. We look forward to working closely with Paula in continuing to build the companys existing retail and direct business and open new stores. We estimate that J. Jill can support a considerable increase in store count, and we will use our experience in driving store opening strategies to help the company grow its store base by 5% to 10% each year, said Stockton Croft, head of Arcapitas US private equity line of business.
Arcapita identified several factors which make J. Jill an appealing investment opportunity within the sector. Mr. Croft added J. Jills customer demographic is growing faster than all other age groups, and performing well against other groups in terms of salary growth and disposable income. The companys multi-channel presence and focus on quality fabrics and simple, comfortable styles generate deep customer loyalty and yields strong gross margins. Furthermore, the company benefits from a highly regarded management team.
Our work with Paula Bennett and the entire J. Jill team reignited a great brand during a difficult economic period said Joshua Olshansky, a Managing Director of Golden Gate Capital. The company is now well placed to successfully implement a long-term growth strategy and, with the commitment and experience of Arcapita, to build upon the successes achieved to date.
Arcapitas Chief Executive Officer, Atif A. Abdulmalik, stated Although in recent months we have directed more attention to the emerging markets of the Middle East, Asia and China in the search for new investment opportunities, our deal teams are now beginning to report a much more fertile environment developing for new deals in the US. This is an example of a strongly capitalized, well-managed company with plenty of growth potential at an attractive multiple, and in a sector where we have an excellent track record. I believe it represents an outstanding investment opportunity for our investors.
Arcapita recently reported the results of the first nine months of its fiscal 2011, turning in an income of $42 million over the period.
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About Arcapita
Headquartered in Bahrain with offices in Atlanta, London and Singapore, Arcapitas four principal lines of business are private equity, real estate, infrastructure and venture capital. To date, the Bank has completed 71 transactions with a total value of more than $28 billion and has an equity capital base of $1.1 billion, and $7.7 billion in funds under management. Arcapitas mission is to provide innovative and distinctive investment opportunities that generate superior risk-adjusted returns while adhering to Islamic principles.
Further details on Arcapita can be found at www.arcapita.com.
About Golden Gate Capital
Golden Gate Capital is a San Francisco-based private investment firm with approximately $9 billion of capital under its management. The firm's charter is to partner with world-class management teams to make equity investments in situations where there is a demonstrable opportunity to significantly enhance a company's value. The principals of Golden Gate have a long and successful history of investing with management partners across a wide range of industries and transaction types, including going-privates, corporate divestitures, leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations.
Further details on Golden Gate Capital can be found at www.goldengatecap.com.
About J. Jill
J. Jill is a leading multi-channel fashion retailer of women's apparel, accessories and footwear with 225 stores nationwide, as well as strong catalog and web businesses. With a well defined fashion point of view J Jills exclusive designs offer quality, trend-relevant styles that give women an easy way to dress for effortless style. Originally founded in 1959, J. Jill is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.
Further details on J. Jill can be found at www.jjill.com.
For further information, please contact:
Tim Doyne - Arcapita Bank B.S.C.(c)
Tel: +973 17 218 333
Mob: +973 39 929 009
Press Release 2011
