Relevant Documents:
Press Release Gilde Acquisition
Public Filing 2019 Accounts Amor GmbH (in German)
German affordable jewelry chain Amor has hired Houlihan Lokey and Sidley Austin to advise in debt talks with lenders, who are being advised by restructuring advisory Freitag and Clifford Chance, sources familiar with the situation told Reorg.
Continue reading for our EMEA Middle Market team's analysis of jewelry chain Amor's debt talks, and request a trial for access to our coverage of thousands of other stressed/distressed debt situations as well as access to the linked documents.
Sources said the business has been hit hard by the pandemic, which made debt talks necessary. German jewelry industry association BVJ
said in April that turnover in the sector declined by 11% year over year to €4.25 billion in 2020 due to effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Additionally, the association estimates that revenue in the first quarter 2021 is about 65% to 80% below the average of previous years. The association
expects the pandemic to further accelerate consolidation in the sector.
Amor was acquired by Gilde in 2016 for €89 million,
according to Crunchbase. At the time of the leveraged buyout, the company issued about €145 million in bank debt, according to the company’s 2019 report. In 2019, the group reported EBITDA of €10.8 million and revenue of €81 million.
The company sells its products through almost 3,000 points of sale, such as department stores, jewelry stores, hypermarkets at retail partners across Europe, Canada and Australia. The group also has its own online shop.