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Fresh Out of Bankruptcy, Alex + Ani Gets $17M Loan
Second Avenue Capital Partners announced the closing of a $17.5 million senior secured credit facility for the jewelry company.
The Alex and Ani “Armenian Flower” bangle. The jewelry company recently closed on a $17.5 million loan, which it will use to continue to rebuild after emerging from bankruptcy.
Boston—Alex and Ani LLC has secured a multimillion-dollar loan that will go toward working capital and business operations as it continues to rebuild after emerging from bankruptcy.
Second Avenue Capital Partners (SACP) announced the closing of the $17.5 million senior secured credit facility on Wednesday.
Scott Burger, the former Pandora executive who was named CEO of Alex and Ani in January, said the loan is an “affirmation of the resiliency” of the Alex and Ani brand.
“We create jewelry that connects with a customer’s emotions. It was essential for us to partner with a lender that could appreciate the intangible value of that emotional connection and recognize the benefit it will have on our continued evolution,” he said, noting SACP’s commitment to the company’s goals and its experience in jewelry.
The Boston-based lender closed on a $10 million loan to myGemma, an online resale site for luxury goods including jewelry and watches, in April.
In May, it provided a senior secured credit facility to Maria Tash, the brand founded by designer Maria Tashjian and known as an innovator in piercings. The amount of the loan was not disclosed.
Regarding the loan to Alex and Ani, SPAC President Chris O’Connor said: “Alex and Ani has embarked on a new journey this year. Expanded leadership has allowed the company to take a step back and focus on the foundation of the business. Alex and Ani cornered this market years ago and now they’re assembling the underlying structure to support the volume.
“They have an enormous opportunity for growth and we’re eager to help them achieve their objectives and execute on their strategy.”
Founded in Rhode Island in 2004 by Carolyn Rafaelian, who named the company after her daughters, Alex and Ani’s inexpensive, expandable wire charm bracelets became wildly popular in the early 2010s.
The bracelets were sold at Alex and Ani stores nationwide and via retail partners, including both chain stores and independent jewelers, with annual revenue totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
Over time, the buzz around the bracelets faded and the company found itself saddled with debt related to its explosive growth, embroiled in legal battles, and grappling with constant turnover among its executive ranks.
Rafaelian left the company in 2020.
The pandemic hit the already struggling company particularly hard and Alex and Ani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2021 with hopes of finding a buyer.
None emerged and in September of that year a judge OK’ed a Chapter 11 reorganization plan under which private equity firm Lion Capital LLP purchased debt Alex and Ani owed to various banks and upped its stake in the company to 65 percent from 59 percent.
A company called the Bathing Club LLC bought the remaining 35 percent of the company.
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