Salus Capital Partners announced it has provided a $35 million senior secured credit facility for W Diamond Group Corporation, the largest manufacturer of men’s tailored clothing in the United States with operating factories in Rochester, NY and Chicago, IL.
W Diamond Group Corporation is a new US-based company formed by Doug Williams, former CEO of HMX Group, to continue manufacturing brands including Hickey Freeman, Hart Schaffner Marx, Palm Beach, Exclusively Misook and Christopher Blue. Authentic Brands Group recently acquired substantially all the assets of HMX Group and affiliates, and the acquisition received final approval by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on December 19, 2012.
"Today is a great day for 1,100 American families. Since August, Salus Capital Partners has provided to HMX funding as a bridge to a better-capitalized entity,” said Doug Williams, CEO, W Diamond Group Corporation. “This new company, W Diamond Group Corporation, with a new credit facility provided by Salus Capital Partners will continue the more than 100 years of heritage operating the Hart Schaffner Marx factory in Chicago, IL and the Hickey Freeman factory in Rochester, NY."
“Salus Capital was pleased to work with Doug Williams and others at HMX Group to provide the bridge financing and subsequent DIP facility necessary to help the company operate through an orderly sales process and bankruptcy resulting in the greatest benefits to all of the company’s constituencies – its employees, management, shareholders, vendors, and the estate,” said Kyle Shonak, senior vice president, Special Opportunities at Salus Capital. “We are very proud of the outcome in which one of the most iconic and widely recognized brands in fine men’s tailored clothing emerges from bankruptcy with new life and strong prospects. We hope to partner in all the future successes of the W Diamond Company and Authentic Brands Group.”
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said, “These were roller coaster negotiations, but I never gave up and worked tirelessly to make sure at the end of the day we’d have a buyer at the table who understands the value of having Hickey Freeman suits made in Rochester, and wanted to keep the jobs here. I am glad that Salus Capital Partners, Authentic Brands Group, and Doug Williams stepped up to the plate, so that Hickey Freeman's roughly 450 Rochester families can breathe easier as a result. I look forward to working with all of them to ensure a bright future for Hickey Freeman in Rochester.”
Since launching in January 2012, Salus has provided loans to 20 companies throughout North America with circumstances ranging from turnarounds to emerging growth situations.