Plano, Texas — JCPenney and SPARC Group have announced plans to merge, forming Catalyst Brands. Catalyst Brands launches with 1,800 store locations, 60,000 employees, more than $9 billion of revenue and $1 billion of liquidity. JCPenney and SPARC Group have created a joint venture in an all-equity transaction to form the combined organization, with Simon Property Group, Brookfield Corp., Authentic Brands Group and Shein as shareholders.
The combined portfolio features six retail banners — the SPARC Group’s Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand and Nautica and JCPenney.
Marc Rosen, formerly the chief executive officer of JCPenney, will serve as CEO of Catalyst Brands. Kevin Harper, a former Walmart executive, will join the organization as chief operating officer.
Additionally, Catalyst announced that it has sold the U.S. operations of Reebok and is exploring options for the future operations of Forever 21.