Cleary Gottlieb is representing J.Crew Group, Inc., a Texas Pacific Group portfolio company, in the initial public offering of its common stock.
Long-time Cleary client J.Crew is a nationally recognized apparel and accessories brand, offering full lines of high quality women’s and men’s apparel and accessories through its retail and factory stores, catalog and Internet website. In early 2003, under newly-arrived CEO Millard Drexler and President Jeffrey Pfeifle, J.Crew started repositioning its business, including enhancing the design and quality of its merchandise, and adding luxury items to its product line. Since the repositioning, J.Crew has experienced four consecutive quarters of double-digit growth in financial results.
J.Crew plans to use the proceeds of the offering and of a separate $73.5 million sale of common stock to TPG to redeem preferred stock held by TPG and other shareholders, and to redeem some of its outstanding debt. Cleary also represented TPG in its original investment in J.Crew in 1997.