Heritage Equity Partners (HEP) announced that it acted as investment banker to Mallygirl, LLC in the recently approved sale of the Company to Beauty Visions LLC. The sale was effectuated through a Chapter 11 Section 363 process and was approved by the Bankruptcy Court in the District of Maryland on June 5, 2015 and closed earliler this week.

The seller / Debtor in Possession obtained a stalking horse bid and in conjunction with the proposed sale, the company was operating under Chapter 11 in order to meet the needs of its customers, vendors and employees while working to restructure its obligations. Heritage Equity Partners was retained as Mallygirl’s broker on May 7, 2015 to help secure additional parties interested in purchasing the Company. HEP conducted a successful marketing process that resulted in a competing offer from a very strong strategic partner. The two bidders participated in an auction, increasing the price by 43%, to $10,000,000, over the course of eighteen bids, with Beauty Visions ultimately prevailing.

HEP's extensive experience in identifying potential buyers and executing an expedited sales process, along with crisis management provided by Chief Restructuring Officer, Michael Lang, and guidance from debtor’s counsel John Carlton of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP and Sarah Longson of Kollman & Saucier, P.A., enabled the Company to continue as a going concern while preserving jobs for the majority of Mally's employees, as well as maximizing recovery for Mally’s creditors.

Commenting on the sale, Chief Restructuring Officer, Michael Lang, stated, “We retained Heritage Equity Partners to ensure all options were explored and feel they did an excellent job assisting with the sale of the Company. To bring another buyer to the table, with no contingencies, in less than a month, was quite an accomplishment. The acquisition by Beauty Visions will allow the Company to emerge from bankruptcy properly capitalized and well positioned to continue serving customers and working with our vendors. The support from both groups has been phenomenal and we are excited for this new chapter.”

Mallygirl is an international cosmetics brand founded in 2005 by Mally Roncal, a long-time makeup artist to the stars. Annual sales reached over $30 million in 2014, on the back of its valuable relationships with QVC and ULTA Beauty stores. Distribution of Mallygirl products is completed from a 50,000 square foot warehouse in White Marsh, Maryland. In addition to retail distribution, the Company also has a direct-to-consumer presence through their own e-commerce site, MallyBeauty.com, as well as other leading beauty e-retailers.

Mallygirl’s business grew significantly over the years building the value of the brand within the highly competitive cosmetics industry. In recent years Mallygirl has experienced financial difficulties, which ultimately led to the inability to service its current debt, resulting in a sale of the company.

Professionals who worked in the case include:

• Dan Besikof of Loeb & Loeb served as legal counsel to the buyer, Beauty Visions LLC;
• Dan Fontana and Lisa Tancredi of Tancredi, Gebhardt & Smith served as legal counsel for the secured lender, Essex Bank;
• Joel Sher of Shapiro, Sher, Guinot & Sandler, provided representation to a shareholder;
• Kristi LeFaivre and Steven Leitess of Leitess Friedberg PC served as legal counsel to the Unsecured Creditors Committee, and,
• Jim Fox, David Neyhart, and Evan Blum of GlassRatner provided financial advisory services to the Creditor’s Committee.

Heritage Equity Partners (HEP), formerly “Equity Partners,” based in Easton, MD, provides boutique investment banking services for special situations.