Jessica Simpson’s family offered to buy the singer-turned-fashion entrepreneur’s brand out of bankruptcy for $65 million, a lawyer said yesterday in court, Bloomberg News reported. Sequential Brands Group Inc., which owns the rights to the Jessica Simpson fashion collection, filed bankruptcy on Tuesday with plans to hold an auction for its aging brands. The day before the company sought court protection from creditors, Sequential made a tentative deal with the Simpson family, company attorney Joshua Brody told the judge overseeing the chapter 11 case in Wilmington, Delaware. The company will try to get a final agreement in the coming weeks to have the Simpson family act as the so-called stalking horse bidder at an auction, Brody said. Two other current partners, Galaxy Active and Centric Brands, have also agreed to serve as lead bidders for other assets, setting a floor price for the brands they are trying to buy. Should a judge approve those agreements, Galaxy Active would make a binding, initial offer of $333 million for the so-called Active Division; Centric Brands, which holds a long-term license for Joe’s Jeans, would offer $42 million for the denim and sportswear label.
