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Five years after Tory Burch and her ex hired lawyers to finalize their divorce, they’ve hired an investment bank to unwind their business interests.
The flaxen-haired designer’s fashion firm has hired Barclays Capital to sell a third of the company — namely, the third that’s still chiefly owned by her former husband, Christopher Burch, The Post has learned.
Sources said the deal is being hawked to prospective investors with a price tag that pegs the value of the fast-growing preppy clothing empire at a whopping $2 billion — more than 13 times its estimated $150 million in Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
At that lofty level, the sale of the minority stake would reap a windfall upwards of $600 million for Chris Burch who, in a notoriously awkward arrangement, has remained chairman of the company that bears his ex-wife’s name.
As such, designer Tory Burch, who lately has been romantically linked to Warner Music Chief Lyor Cohen, “will be drinking a glass of champagne” once the deal is done, according to a source familiar with her thinking.
What’s more, a deal at the price Tory Burch is pushing would value the company at more than twice the value of nearly $800 million it received in 2009, when the company sold a minority stake to the Mexican private-equity firm Tresalia Capital.
“A $2 billion valuation would augur extremely well for the IPO,” said one source close to the situation, noting that the company is angling to go public by 2013. “Tory Burch is just hitting its stride, and hasn’t even tapped its overseas potential.”
Reached late yesterday, Tory Burch declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Chris Burch didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Sources said that while Chris Burch plans to step down from the company’s board once a deal is completed, it won’t end tensions that have lately simmered between the former couple.
That’s because Chris Burch intends to use his fat proceeds to fund a new retail chain he’s launched called C. Wonder, which critics say mimics the bright colors and clean-cut clothing that are Tory Burch’s trademark.
“Chris is knocking off her brand shamelessly, and selling everything at lower prices,” according to one source close to the designer. “I don’t think she’s worried per se, but she does consider it a blatant competitive threat.”
Despite the huge sum involved, sources said Tory Burch is looking for a passive investor and is soliciting sovereign wealth funds and investors that don’t necessarily have backgrounds in retail or fashion.
“Tory’s not crazy about the idea of an operational partner,” according to one source. “She wants to manage things completely.”