Authentic enters 311 million dollar deal to acquire Dockers from Levi Strauss

Authentic Brands Group has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Dockers from Levi Strauss & Co. for a transaction value of 311 million dollars. The deal reflects LS&Co.’s strategic efforts to zone in on its direct-to-consumer business.

The transaction, which is subject to customary adjustments and closing conditions, has the potential to reach up to 391 million dollars in value via an 80 million dollar earnout opportunity in the future, based on the performance of Dockers’ within Authentic’s portfolio.

LS&Co. said it intends to return around 100 million dollars of the net cash proceeds from the transaction to shareholders through share repurchases.

The company is expected to close the deal on or around July 31, 2025, for Dockers’ intellectual property and operations in the US and Canada. By January 31, 2026, the brand’s remaining operations are anticipated to follow.

LS&Co. president and CEO, Michelle Gass, said in a release that through this agreement, the company is “confident that we maximised the value of the business and that Authentic is the right organisation to usher in the next chapter of growth for the Dockers brand”.

Levi’s sharpens focus on core brand as Authentic eyes growth

For the US denim group, offloading Dockers will allow space to continue evolving its core brand Levi’s into a “denim lifestyle” label, as well as scaling its Beyond Yoga brand as part of a plan to drive sustainable growth across categories, channels and regions.

While LS&Co. has largely reported strong financials for its most recent quarters, with the first quarter of the current fiscal year seeing a 3 percent increase in revenue to 1.5 billion dollars, its outlook for 2025 had concerned investors.

For the year, LS&Co. forecasts a 1 to 2 percent decline in revenue and adjusted diluted EPS between 1.20 to 1.25 dollars, falling short of LSEG’s estimates of 3.7 percent growth and 1.37 dollars adjusted diluted EPS.

Despite this, Gass remained optimistic about the group’s “sharpened focus on the core Levi’s brand”, which she said was “working”, showing “broad-based strength across women’s, men’s, DTC and wholesale”.

Meanwhile, Authentic is continuing to swiftly grow its portfolio. The company’s founder, chairman and CEO, Jamie Salter, stated that Dockers was “a natural fit for the Authentic model”.

He continued: “It’s a brand with deep roots, high awareness and a solid foundation in licensing — all things we look for when acquiring new brands. Dockers played a key role in shaping casual workwear as we know it today, and we see significant potential to build on that legacy and grow the brand across a variety of categories.”

Authentic, the parent of Reebok, Lucky Brand and Brooks Brothers, typically works via a third-party licensing model, outsourcing distribution and other operations to global partners in order to expand brands internationally.