Levi Strauss Completes Sale of DOCKERS Business to Authentic Brands Group

Cleary Gottlieb represented Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) in the sale of its Dockers brand to Authentic Brands Group (Authentic) in a transaction with a total value of up to $391 million, based on an initial transaction value of $311 million, with an $80 million earnout opportunity in future years based on the performance of the Dockers business under Authentic’s ownership.

The transaction was announced on May 20, 2025, and successfully completed its final closing on February 27, 2026.

LS&Co. is one of the world’s largest brand-name apparel companies and a global leader in jeanswear. The company designs and markets jeans, casual wear and related accessories for men, women and children under the Levi’s, Levi Strauss Signature, and Beyond Yoga brands. Its products are sold in approximately 120 countries worldwide through a combination of chain retailers, department stores, online sites, and a global footprint of approximately 3,300 retail stores and shop-in-shops. LS&Co.’s reported 2025 net revenues were $6.3 billion.

The Dockers brand is a leader in the casual pants category that has set the standard for casual wear since 1986 and continues to redefine everyday standards by providing the foundation of a modern wardrobe with strong, well-established American heritage. The Dockers brand is a worldwide favorite for all things khaki and features a full range of fits and styles, with thoughtful designs and advanced innovations.

Authentic is a leading intellectual property company that acquires, manages, and enhances brand equity by partnering with brand licenses. Authentic owns more than 20 global consumer brands in Sports, Men’s Fashion, Women’s Fashion, and Celebrity. Its leading global brands include Spyder and Viking in Sports, Hickey Freeman and Hart Schaffner in Men’s Fashion, Juicy Couture and Judith Leibner in Women’s Fashion, and Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presly in Celebrity.

For more information, please see the press release.

The Cleary M&A team is led by partners Benet O’Reilly and Kelsey Nussenfeld and includes associates Emily Voytas, Isabel Keene, Marc-Antoine Leblanc, and Sam Olson, with assistance from associates Pierre Allegaert, Darren Hon, and Myron Atta-Mensah. Partners Maureen Linch and Jens Hafemann and associates Jonathan Seebach and Kathy Zhang advised on tax matters, with assistance from associate Xiaoyang (Sharon) Wang. Partner Marcela Robledo and associates Melissa Faragasso, Samantha Simmons, and Lara Castellino advised on U.S. intellectual property and data privacy matters. Associate Jan-Frederik Keustermans advised on European data privacy matters. Partner Julia Petty and associates Ariel Adler and Christopher Ten Eyck advised on U.S. executive compensation and employee benefits matters. Senior Attorney Loïc Peltzer; counsel Jerome Hartemann, Michael Brems, and Melissa Reid; and associate Morten Werner advised on EU and UK executive compensation and employee benefits matters. Partners Brian Byrne, Cunzhen Huang, and Steven Kaiser, and associates Alexandra Hudon and Sean Sharaf advised on antitrust matters, with assistance from associate Carolina Cury Ricciardi. Associates Ruben Foriers, Emmanuel Wynant, and Michelle Willaert advised on Belgian law matters. Partners Alexis Raguet and Anne-Sophie Coustel and associates Blanche d’Aramon, Mathieu Gorain, and Mathilde Philippe advised on French law matters. Partner David Singer, counsel Gianluca Russo, and associates Giulia de Bosio, Mario Casella, and Fabio Gassino advised on Italian law matters. Partner Amy Shapiro and associate Eric Olson advised on finance matters. Associate Jacob Evan Solomon advised on real estate matters. Partner Helena Grannis and associates Natalia Rezai and Grady Tarplee advised on capital markets matters.