LOS ANGELES & TORONTO – October 25, 2013 – Ares Management LLC and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) announced today that their affiliates have completed the acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group LTD Inc. for a purchase price of approximately US$6.0 billion.
The transaction was previously announced on September 9, 2013.
“We are very pleased with the successful outcome of this transaction,” commented Karen Katz, Neiman Marcus Group President and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to partnering with Ares Management and CPPIB. We believe the future for Neiman Marcus Group is bright.”
About Ares Management LLC
Ares Management LLC is a global alternative asset manager and SEC registered investment adviser with approximately $68 billion of committed capital under management and approximately 700 employees as of September 30, 2013. Ares is headquartered in Los Angeles with professionals located across the United States, Europe and Asia and invests across the capital structure – from senior debt to common equity. Ares’ investment activities are managed by dedicated teams in its Capital Markets, Private Debt, Private Equity and Real Estate investment platforms. Ares Management was built upon the fundamental principle that each platform benefits from being part of the greater whole. This multi-asset class synergy provides its professionals with insights into industry trends, access to significant deal flow and the ability to assess relative value. For additional information, visit www.aresmgmt.com.
About Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is a professional investment management organization that invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to pay current benefits on behalf of 18 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, CPPIB invests in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in London and Hong Kong, CPPIB is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At June 30, 2013, the CPP Fund totalled C$188.9 billion. For more information about CPPIB, please visit www.cppib.com.
About Neiman Marcus Group
Neiman Marcus Group LTD Inc. operations include the Specialty Retail Stores segment and the Online segment. The Specialty Retail Stores segment consists primarily of Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Last Call stores. The Online segment conducts both catalog and online operations under the Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Horchow brand names. Information about the Company can be accessed at www.neimanmarcusgroup.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
From time to time, Neiman Marcus Group LTD Inc. may make statements that predict or forecast future events or results, depend on future events for their accuracy or otherwise contain “forward-looking information.” These statements are made based on management’s expectations and beliefs concerning future events and are not guarantees of future performance.
The Company cautions readers that actual results may differ materially as a result of various factors, some of which are beyond its control, including but not limited to: weakness in domestic and global capital markets and other economic conditions and the impact of such conditions on the Company’s ability to obtain credit; general economic and political conditions or changes in such conditions, including relationships between the United States and the countries from which the Company sources its merchandise; economic, political, social or other events resulting in the short-or long-term disruption in business at the Company’s stores, distribution centers or offices; changes in consumer confidence resulting in a reduction of discretionary spending on goods; changes in the demographic or retail environment; changes in consumer preferences or fashion trends; changes in the Company’s relationships with customers due to, among other things, its failure to provide quality service and competitive loyalty programs, its inability to provide credit pursuant to its proprietary credit card arrangement or its failure to protect customer data or comply with regulations surrounding information security and privacy; the effects of incurring a substantial amount of indebtedness under the Company’s debt instruments; the ability to refinance the Company’s indebtedness and the effects of any refinancing; the effects upon the Company of complying with the covenants contained in its debt instruments; restrictions on the terms and conditions of the indebtedness under the Company’s debt instruments may place on the Company’s ability to respond to changes in its business or to take certain actions; competitive responses to the Company’s loyalty programs, marketing, merchandising and promotional efforts or inventory liquidations by vendors or other retailers; changes in the financial viability of the Company’s competitors; seasonality of the retail business; adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, particularly during peak selling seasons; delays in anticipated store openings and renovations; the Company’s success in enforcing its intellectual property rights; changes in the Company’s relationships with designers, vendors and other sources of merchandise, including changes in the level of goods and/or changes in the form in which such goods are made available to us for resale; delays in receipt of merchandise ordered due to work stoppages or other causes of delay in connection with either the manufacture or shipment of such merchandise; changes in foreign currency exchange or inflation rates; significant increases in paper, printing and postage costs; changes in key management personnel and the Company’s ability to retain key management personnel; changes in the Company’s relationships with certain of its key sales associates and the Company’s ability to retain its key sales associates; changes in government or regulatory requirements increasing the Company’s costs of operations; litigation that may have an adverse effect on the Company’s financial results or reputation; terrorist activities in the United States and elsewhere; the impact of funding requirements related to the Company’s pension plan; the Company’s ability to provide credit to its customers pursuant to its proprietary credit card program arrangement, including any future changes in the terms of such arrangement and/or legislation impacting the extension of credit to its customers; and the design and implementation of new information systems as well as enhancements of existing systems.
These and other factors that may adversely affect the Company’s future performance or financial condition are contained in its Annual Report in Form 10-K and other reports filed with and available from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events, new information or future circumstances.
For more information:
Ares Management:
Mendel Communications LLC
Bill Mendel
(212) 397-1030
bill@mendelcommunications.com
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board:
Linda Sims
Director, Media Relations
(416) 868-8695
lsims@cppib.com
Neiman Marcus Group:
Ginger Reeder
VP, Corporate Communications
(214) 573-5822
Ginger_Reeder@neimanmarcus.com