Sale of brand Lycra to Chinese textile giant dismissed

Shandong Ruyi Investment Holder has dismissed the talk with a Chinese textile giant pertaining to the sale of the brand Lycra. The Chinese textile company wanted to explore the possibility of the specialty fiber business as an alternative.

Ruyi had purchased the Lycra Company from Koch industries for 2.6 billion dollars in 2019. The company had borrowed 1 billion and two of Lycra’s creditors proposed the sale of the business.

Lycra’s recent financial performance amidst the pandemic and the interbitterness of Ruyi has encouraged some of its creditors to hire a restructuring firm, Alvarez and Marsal (A&M) as an adviser. A&M had sounded out potential buyers for Lycra in the past couple of months.

Without offers, Ruyi is looking at an IPO potential on China’s new tech-focused  market. Many sources declined to reveal their names as the information was not public.

At present the Lycra Company functions as a fully operational subsidiary of Ruyi. The 2019 deal included eight manufacturing, four labs for R&D, 17 offices located across 14 countries and approximately 3,000 employees. The sale also included a robust portfolio of highly respected consumer and trade brands manufacturing advanced fibre and technology solutions for the apparel and hygiene industries. These included Lycra, Lycra HyFit, Lycra T400, L by Lycra, Coolmax, Thermolite, Elaspan, Supplex, Tactel, and Terathane.

The Ruyi group mainly focus on textile offerings with operations spanning from raw materials and textile processing to the design and sale of apparel. The group can take on various luxury brands such as Aquascutum, Sandro, Maje, and Claudie Pierlot.

It operates 13 domestic industrial parks and contributes to the largest production lines and advanced technologies in China. The company has a significant retail network that services a global customer base spread across many continents.