American Apparel may soon have a suitor willing to fork up the cash for the retailer.
The apparel company has at least two prominent companies looking to put in an offer for it in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Forever 21. Both the e-commerce giant and the clothing retailer are in talks with American Apparel regarding a potential buyout offer, according to sources close to the matter.
There are a couple of other smaller companies that could be in the running as well, including Next Level Apparel, which is based out of California, as well as Authentic Brand Groups LLC.
The current bid that’s on the table for American Apparel to consider comes from Gildan Activewear Inc, a Canadian apparel maker. If that deal closes, it will cost the company at least $66 million.
The deal would allow for manufacturing plants in southern California to persist, keeping at least 3,500 workers employed. American Apparel is one of the biggest apparel companies in the U.S.
Only some of the California production power will remain, which could tarnish American Apparel’s “Made in U.S.A” tags that have become among the company’s signature elements. Gildan has many of its production facilities in other countries where it is easier to produce clothes.
The auction for the company will be complete next week, according to sources. The deliberations for the company are still confidential.
AMZN shares gained 2.4% Thursday.
