Neuberger Berman has held the close of Marquee Brands Partners, a USD462 million fund that seeks to acquire high-quality, US and European brands, with strong consumer awareness and opportunities for growth in various consumer sectors including apparel, footwear, accessories, health & beauty, entertainment, food & beverage and home products.
The fund was oversubscribed, exceeding its target of USD400 million. Marquee Brands has made two acquisitions to date in Bruno Magli, the luxury Italian footwear brand, and Ben Sherman®, the iconic British fashion brand. Marquee's global investor base is comprised of more than 20 institutions, including public and private pensions, insurance companies and foundations from North America, Europe, the Middle East and Japan.
Marquee's investment team is led by Samuel Porat, a Managing Director of Neuberger Berman, and Zachary Sigel, a Principal of Neuberger Berman. Porat and Sigel also founded the fund's operating subsidiary, Marquee Brands LLC along with its management and operating executives, Michael DeVirgilio and Cory M Baker. Together they have assembled a team of experienced executives from the fashion, retail and licensing industries. "We believe that Marquee's strategy of acquiring leading consumer brands with strong growth opportunities provides our investors with a potential attractive source of yield and capital appreciation," says Samuel Porat, adding that "our investors, faced with twin challenges of a volatile market and persistently low-rate environment, are seeking alternative sources of income and return and intellectual property such as consumer brands can benefit their investment portfolios."
"We look forward to continuing to build a diversified portfolio of high-quality brands that we can grow organically through impactful marketing, geographic expansion and increased product offerings with our partners," says Zachary Sigel who also oversees Marquee's acquisitions. "We believe the large committed capital base from our investors, Neuberger Berman's global network, and our strong management team makes Marquee one of the best capitalised and strategically positioned competitors in the consumer brand acquisition, licensing and management business."
