One of the final stages of Party City’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy is now complete — the retailer’s intellectual property (IP) and wholesale operations have been sold to an affiliate of Ad Populum, a consumer product conglomerate that owns a number of brands whose products were previously sold at the party retailer, including collectibles brand NECA, Chia Pet, costume designers Rubies and Smiffys, giftware designer Enesco and more.
The Ad Populum affiliate that has emerged as the winning bidder is called New Amscan in a nod to Party City’s former wholesale division Amscan, which was included in the acquisition. Ad Populum said that it now intends to “lead a transformation of the Party City and Amscan brands, leveraging its strengths in sourcing and distribution to preserve and build upon [Party City’s] legacy in the multibillion-dollar party supply industry.”
New Amscan emerged as the winning bidder following what Party City Holding Co. called a “robust” auction process, with the final bid of $20 million representing twice the value of the stalking horse bid that started off the auction.
Sale of Party City Leases Continues
At the same time, Party City Holding Co. is continuing to sell off the retailer’s 695 store leases, and liquidation sales are expected to completed in a few weeks. The company said that so far, the auction process has brought in approximately $14.5 million of gross proceeds, with sales continuing. A hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 26, 2025 to receive court approval of both the IP and wholesale business sale to New Amscan as well as the real estate sales.
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