Steven Madden has agreed to buy luxury footwear and fashion accessory brand Kurt Geiger for about £289 million ($360 million) in cash.
The New York-based company will acquire Kurt Geiger from an investor group led by private equity firm Cinven, which had reportedly been mulling a sale of the brand since 2023.
Founded in 1963, Kurt Geiger opened its first store on Bond Street in London. Its products are available through its own network of outlets as well as premium department stores such as Harrods and Selfridges.
Cinven acquired Kurt Geiger in 2015, and then expanded its operation in the U.S. in recent years. The British retailer said that it managed to ramp up its net turnover in North America from £10 million to £140 million over the last four years.
“We’re going big in North America,” Kurt Geiger’s CEO Neil Clifford said last month. “Seeing our growth in the region, we believe our creative and social spirit and our statement-making styles aren’t just for Londonphiles. We love the idea of Kurt Geiger being a worldwide conduit of London’s pop culture scene.”
The retailer now has more than 70 stores across the U.K. and the U.S., alongside operations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
The company’s portfolio of brands includes Kurt Geiger London, KG Kurt Geiger and Carvela, which generated about £400 million in estimated revenue for the year ended February 1, 2025.
“It’s been gratifying to see how consumers have responded to our unique design aesthetic and strong British DNA,” Clifford said in Thursday’s announcement. “While we’ve delivered remarkable growth in recent years, we believe we are in the early stages of our growth journey, with significant expansion opportunities available to us.”
Steven Madden said it intends to fund the deal with a combination of cash on hand and debt. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of the year.
Steve Madden, the founder of his eponymous company, said buying Kurt Geiger was “one of the great accomplishments of my career.”
“The brand is doing better and better every year, and the opportunity to collaborate with them is thrilling. I get goosebumps just thinking about it,” he added.
Founded in Long Island in 1990, Steve Madden is the owner of brands such as Dolce Vita and Betsey Johnson. The company said it operates a network of 282 retail stores as well as 67 concessions in international markets.
Its Nasdaq-listed shares are down 24% since the beginning of October, giving the company a market value of just under $2.8 billion.
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