Clayton, Dubilier & Rice buys David’s Bridal Inc

The private equity firm has agreed to buy David’s Bridal Inc. in a deal that values the wedding apparel store at 1.05 billion dollars. Leonard Green & Partners will continue as a minority shareholder, the firm said in a press release Tuesday.

The definitive agreement to acquire the specialty retailer of bridal gown and wedding-related apparel and accessories in North America has sealed a transaction that values the company at approximately 1.05 billion dollars.

Leonard Green & Partners will continue as a minority partner.  Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Goldman Sachs Bank USA, and Morgan Stanley have committed to providing debt financing for the transaction. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP acted as legal advisor to CD&R. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays acted as financial advisors and Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal advisor to David’s Bridal. The Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“David’s Bridal is a unique and well-positioned specialty retailer competing in a large and stable industry,” said Richard J. Schnall, a Partner at CD&R. “We look forward to working closely with the company to build on its market leadership and scale advantages to grow in new market segments, channels, and geographies.”

“The CD&R team has a reputation for operational excellence and we welcome their ownership as we accelerate our growth strategies for the company and continue our commitment to providing the highest levels of style, quality and value to our customers,” said Robert D. Huth, President and CEO of David’s Bridal. “We are also pleased that Leonard Green will continue to be an investor.”

“The company’s strong brand awareness, exceptional service quality, deep product knowledge, and high performance levels are unmatched in the bridal customer segment and that is why we are so excited about the transaction,” said CD&R Partner Kenneth A. Giuriceo.