Fast Retailing Co., the operator of Uniqlo casual-clothing stores, will acquire U.S. clothing firm Theory LLC together with its Japanese licensee, Link International Co.
The deal is intended to promote the Theory brand globally and help Fast Retailing create new brands in the long term, the Japanese clothing firm said Tuesday.
The Theory brand, launched in 1997 by Andrew Rosen and Elie Tahari, is especially popular among career women in the United States and Japan, it said.
Under the deal, L&F Holdings Inc. was first set up in Delaware earlier this month, with Fast Retailing and Link taking a 44.5 percent stake each and Andre Rosen the remaining 11 percent. L&F is to purchase all of the shares of Theory.
Fast Retailing will then take a 47.1 percent stake in Link and sell its 44.5 percent stake in Theory to Link, bringing Link's interest in Theory to 89 percent.
Finally, L&F will be renamed Theory Holdings Inc., Fast Retailing said. All of the transactions are expected to be completed by the end of November.
Link, set up in 1998, has been licensed to sell Theory-brand clothes in Japan and Hong Kong.