Established Incorporated and ACI Licensing form joint venture to acquire four brands

Brand licensing firm Established Incorporated has established a strategic joint venture with ACI Licensing to acquire and manage four lifestyle brands; Badgley Mischka, C&C California, Kay Unger and Rachel Rachel Roy.

As part of the deal, Established will own a controlling 51 percent ownership stake in the group, while ACI will retain 49 percent. More specifically, the joint venture ensures the complete ownership of Badgley Mischka, C&C California and Kay Unger’s intellectual property. The duo will also hold a 71 percent stake in the Rachel Rachel Roy brand, with the brand’s eponymous founder, Rachel Roy, maintaining a 29 percent stake.

For Established, the deal expands its portfolio beyond its core electronics business, officially entering it into the premium lifestyle space, thus signifying a “key milestone” in its evolution, CEO Hall O’Donnell said. He continued: “By leveraging our expertise in brand revitalisation alongside ACI Licensing’s deep industry knowledge in lifestyle manufacturing and licensing, we are positioned to maximise the growth potential of these well-known brands.”

In a joint statement, Andy Cohan and Charles Mamiye, co-founders of ACI, which will continue to lead day-to-day operations of the portfolio, said: “This venture combines ACI's specialised lifestyle industry expertise with Established's proven track record in brand management and global licensing across multiple brands and product categories."