Ascena Retail Group Inc. wound up bankrupt after cobbling together a collection of clothing retailers that racked up losses for years. Now a new owner with a history of taking on tarnished brands will try to fix them, Bloomberg News reported. Ascena last week said that it agreed to sell its Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant and Lou & Grey brands to Sycamore Partners for $540 million. Sycamore said it planned to keep “a substantial portion” of the brands’ stores and workers. The private equity firm’s agreement to buy the brands comes as the retailer was seeking to confirm its chapter 11 plan. A related bankruptcy hearing has been delayed twice, according to recent court documents. Ascena already got court permission to sell its Justice and Catherines brands, leaving the parent as a bankrupt estate in wind-down. Ascena filed for bankruptcy in July with a plan to close about 1,600 of its 2,800 stores, including all of those in its Catherines chain.
