Reboot fails: FNG files for bankruptcy

Belgian fashion group FNG has filed for bankruptcy, as the sale of its only real asset (Swedish Ellos Group) has dropped considerably in value and would not be enough to repay its creditors.

No means

This morning, the boards of directors of FNG NV, FNG Finance Belgium BV and FNG Beheer NL BV filed for bankruptcy at the Commercial Court of Antwerp. This puts an end to the attempted rescue operation, which the fashion group had been working on since 2020.

The problem is that a possible IPO or sale of Ellos, the only remaining part of the company, would yield too little to pay back the creditors. Worldwide, the valuation of e-commerce companies is falling sharply and in addition, cost increases in the supply chain weigh down margins. Waiting longer would lead to additional costs for which there are currently no resources, the directors report in a press release.

FNG, once the holding company behind successful retailers such as Brantano and CKS, bought Ellos in November 2019 from the private equity fund Nordic Capital. The latter remained a major creditor because the payment of the sale was not fully completed. To enable a restart, FNG concluded a settlement agreement with Nordic and various other creditors in April 2020, in which agreements were also made about a strategic capital review. The rescue mission, however, was full of obstacles – in which the CEO unexpectedly resigned, among other things – and a lot of time was lost until now the directors report that “none of the options realistically fits within the framework and the timing of the settlement.”