Cion Investment acquires David’s Bridal assets

Wedding gown and special occasion retailer David’s Bridal has closed a successful transaction with Cion Investment Corporation keeping open its 195 stores and securing the jobs of 7,000 people across the US.

In a statement, Cion Investment, a business development company, said that it has invested 20 million US dollars into the new business to fund future growth and has assumed bankruptcy-related liabilities.

In addition, the Bank of America will continue to provide financing to the business with a 50 million US dollar revolving credit facility and a 20 million US dollar term loan facility.

Jim Marcum, chief executive officer of David’s Bridal, said: "Today's announcement marks the beginning of David's next era, and with Cion's partnership fully solidified, we are excited to continue to serve brides and customers well into the future.

“We believe that the results of our competitive sale process represent the best outcome for our stakeholders, as it provides us with the time and resources to drive forward in implementing our strategic vision. I would like to thank our valued employees, who we call Dream Makers, for their extraordinary devotion to creating magical moments for our customers. In our 70-year history, we have dressed more than 70 million customers for the best and most memorable moments of their lives, and we expect to be dressing millions more for decades to come.”

The American chain filed for Chapter 11 filing status in April after Marcum stated that the “business continues to be challenged”. The filing marked the second Chapter 11 in under five years.

Gregg Bresner, president and chief investment officer at Cion, added: “We believe this transaction to substantially reduce the company’s debt burden and store portfolio will enhance the company’s ability to benefit from the expected post-Covid rebound in wedding activity and position the company for future success.”