Lowenstein Sandler represented Marubeni Corporation in the acquisition of Jacobson Group Limited, a UK-based footwear brand owner with a portfolio of multiple brands, as part of its initiative to build a lifestyle brand business platform anchored by R.G. Barry Corporation (RGB), a lifestyle brand management company.
Jacobson owns and operates several footwear brands, including its flagship brand Gola, a heritage British sneaker brand founded in 1905, and distributes its products in more than 30 countries primarily across the UK, North America, and Europe. Leveraging the brand equity built over more than 120 years and its accumulated expertise in footwear brand planning and development, Jacobson is accelerating its global expansion.
Marubeni Consumer Platform U.S. (MCPU), one of the dedicated investment platforms under Marubeni's Next Generation Corporate Development Division, aims to build a scalable lifestyle brand business platform. In 2024, MCPU entered the lifestyle brand management business through the acquisition of RGB, which owns brands such as Dearfoams, the market leader in the U.S. in room shoes and slippers. By combining RGB's robust sales infrastructure and corporate functions with Jacobson's brand portfolio, Marubeni seeks to simultaneously accelerate Jacobson's growth and expand the lifestyle brand business platform with RGB as its core.
In the lifestyle brand management business, Marubeni will continue to expand its brand portfolio and earnings base through the roll-up of synergistic growth brands, while scaling its lifestyle brand business platform. By developing brands that closely align with increasingly diverse consumer preferences, Marubeni is committed to enhancing its long-term corporate value.
The Lowenstein team included Marita A. Makinen, Annie Nazarian Davydov, Darren Goodman, Matthew P. Hintz, Eric Jesse, Robert A. Johnston, Jr., Marc S. Kurzweil, Michael Walutes, Manali Joglekar, Revel Atkinson, Zachary Benaharon, Erich J. Kaletka, Nicola E. Perzichilli, Liam Rogan, and Jessica I. Stewart.